


Felix July

by ChaoticNeutral



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Clash of Noir, Drabble Collection, F/M, Felix Culpa, Felix July, Felix Month
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2020-06-28 06:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 33,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral
Summary: A series of semi-interrelated drabbles centering mostly on Felix from the Felix Culpa or Clash of Noir AUs.Chapter 7: Magic AU - In which Grumpy Wizard Felix is very much a thing.Chapter 8: OT3 - Felix has two people he loves. He just didn't realize it was mutual. Or that he was already dating them.Chapter 9: Crossover - Felix can’t help but feel something is off with Marinette.Chapter 10: Enemies to Lovers - Felix is not a good person. Lila tries to use that. Nobody plans for Marinette.Chapter 11: Villain Felix - Demon Felix meets Marinette after Lila tried to trade her soul. No one is happy about this.Chapter 12: Personality Swap - No one was ready for this.Chapter 13: Contest - Demon Felix makes a move. Lila is not happy about this.Chapter 14: First Kiss - Felix hates kissing. But there's something he hates more.Chapter 15: What If? - Felix Culpa is there for Miracle Queen and he regrets everything.Chapter 16: Bad Luck - Rivals clash and Hawk Moth takes advantage.Chapter 17: Amnesia - Clash of Noir Felix tells Oblivio Adrien more than he should have.





	1. Felix is Chat Noir

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Felix Culpa](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17689955) by [ChaoticNeutral](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral). 
  * Inspired by [Clash of Noir](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/498523) by ChaoticNeutral/nobodyfamousposts. 



> A series of semi-interrelated drabbles centering on two AUs featuring Felix:
> 
> In Felix Culpa, Felix is the new student who just happens to transfer to the school the same time Lila returns. He's salty and standoffish, but this may in part be due to the fact that he also happens to be the only sane person in this class if not city as far as he can tell.
> 
> In Clash of Noir, Felix is the very Felix from the PV who managed to break his curse at the cost of the one person who cared about him. Horrified with the outcome of events, he acted rashly and made a wish to undo it all. Now he lives in a world where everything is the same except he never existed, and he would be fine with that...if only his replacement was anyone else.
> 
> There are certain struggles to both versions. And yet for all that some things change, some too remain the same...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clash of Noir: Felix remembers the date a little too late.

* * *

He remembered what day it was just in time to start kicking himself for forgetting the significance.

All the talk and rumors and gossip had gone over his head. All the planning and excitement left him too busy with trying to simply keep track of his civilian tasks AND his self appointed duty of protecting Marinette and judging Adrien Agreste to actually consider just what said planning and excitement was supposed to be for. Who it was supposed to be for. And what that was supposed to mean.

It wasn’t until he happened to see Tikki in Chloe’s hands that he stopped and took notice of the world around him.

Including the foreign but somewhat familiar young man Chloe presented the doll to as a “gift”.

Prince Ali.

Felix had enough time to curse his own lapse before the doors burst open and another familiar but much less pleasant figure entered with a growing army of singing minions at her command.

Princess Fragrance.

Dammit.

This was the day Rose became an akuma—courtesy of Chloe Bourgeois, of course. And there was little doubt that the visiting Prince of Achu was her intended target this time around as well.

The officials were attempting to respond to the intrusion and actually tried to question the clearly not-normal girl in what had to be the worst decision they could make. Already aware of what was going on and what would come of that, Felix charged for Ali and dragged the boy off and around a corner while everyone else was still distracted.

“Hey!”

Not that they were distracted for long, but just long enough for him to get a head start was more than enough.

He needed to get Tikki back to Marinette! And unfortunately, the direct object of the akuma’s infatuation happened to be attached to her.

Last time, he had been forced to face Princess Fragrance alone for a while, desperately stalling and trying to buy Ladybug time to arrive on the scene while protecting the Prince and getting him to safety. He hadn’t understood why it had taken her so long to show, but seeing Tikki in the Prince’s possession was a pretty good indicator of what must have happened in his original version of events.

If Chloe and then Prince Ali had Tikki, Marinette couldn’t transform.

That meant Chat Noir would be on his own this time as well.

And Marinette would be defenseless.

While he wanted the chance to see his replacement in action to observe how well he can manage as the new Black Cat, the situation was far from the best choice as a test.

He wanted to test Adrien. But not while Marinette would be at risk.

Because if Tikki was here, Marinette no doubt knew it and was likely on her way—assuming she wasn’t already somewhere within this blasted hotel. And with the akuma here as well…

Victory was still possible if Chat Noir fell.

But not without Ladybug.

He needed to get Tikki to Marinette!

“Where are we going?”

He also needed to do something about the Prince.

With a quick turn and some fast thinking, he pulled Ali with him into a side room that led to the laundry room and slammed the door behind them. Fortunately, they were far enough ahead that anyone following them would not have seen where they went off to. That would buy them some time, at least.

“Do you know anything about what is happening in Paris right now?”

Ali blinked. “Do you mean the Mayor’s plans for sending the city’s trash out into space?”

“Wait—what?” Felix shook his head. That wasn’t important. “Nevermind that. No. I mean about Hawk Moth and the regular akuma attacks.”

The other boy simpered. “I had heard…something to that affect. But those were just normal criminals, weren’t they?”

Oh boy.

“No. No, they were not. Akumas are victims taken over and granted powers by a specific super-villain. And that green-skinned girl chasing after you happens to be one.”

Ali paled. “Oh.”

“Until Ladybug stops her and purifies the thing controlling her, that akuma is going to keep hunting you down—all over the city if she has to.”

“So…what should we do?” Ali asked. “Should I give myself up? Would that make her stop?”

Felix stared at him dryly. “No. Akumas don’t stop.”

That just made the Prince pale even more. “Oh.”

But this gave him an idea.

Within minutes and with the aid of a couple of hand towels, Felix and Ali both had cloth face masks. This doubled both for granting them at least some limited protection from the perfume as well as obscuring their features. Not that such simple things could prevent them from being placed under her control, but any barrier to breathing her perfume was one more thing and a couple more seconds that allowed them to act. Perhaps that could make all the difference.

“Brilliant! This will make it more difficult to determine who I am!” Ali exclaimed.

“Well, sort of,” Felix noted. “You’ll have to do something about the jacket or she’ll pick you out in a crowd regardless.”

The Prince nodded in agreement and removed the jacket. A faded hoodie taken from one of the laundry bins did well in obscuring Prince Ali’s features and making him less noticeable as the royal figure he was known to be. Not that either of them knew who the article originally belonged to or if it was okay for them to use, but...well...desperate times.

To Felix’s relief, Ali also removed the “toy” as well. Felix silently set the jacket aside with Tikki safely tucked away inside. First chance he got, he’d have to get Tikki and track down Marinette. But for now…

“There is a back entrance out of the hotel.” Felix explained. “Going on foot will be slower than a car, but it will also mean more places to hide and more routes to take. You’ll be harder to track that way. But you need to leave now before she blocks off all the exits.”

“You’re not coming?” Ali asked, concerned.

Felix hesitated.

“I have…something I need to do. There’s someone I have to find.”

For royalty, the Prince was rather kind as he merely smiled at his savior. “Then I wish you well.”

And with that, he was gone.

Felix sorely wished he could have gone with him, if only to escape this danger.

But…

His eyes fell on the pink kwami who stared at him in clear distrust.

The things he did for his Lady…

* * *

She was quiet. Even as he held her and carried her through the halls, she spoke not a word.

Probably for the best. Quiet meant that the akuma and her minions wouldn't hear and try to chase him down. Not that they probably could hear anyone else over their own singing and dancing around, but still...

Better not to risk it.

He slid into another side room when he heard footsteps and waited. The only thing he could hear was the pounding of feet outside and his own heartbeat.

Until...

"I don't trust you."

His gaze snapped to the little creature in his hands, glaring up at him defiantly. Or at least as defiantly as she could while looking so pale and sickly. Her color was faded. Her eyes were glazed. She almost seemed to not be able to see him for all that she was glaring right at him.

Somehow, that just made it worse.

"You hurt her."

He said nothing.

"She needed you and you abandoned her."

He said nothing, maintaining a straight face. He didn't even try to look away. There was no point hiding from his guilt.

"As soon as you got what you wanted...you just walked away." She coughed pitifully but remained resolute in giving him the most hateful glare she could muster. "You didn't even look back once."

He refrained from clenching his hands into fists in agitation. He couldn't afford to harm her, after all. But his hands were shaking. Though she was out of it enough that she may not have noticed.

Because she was right. Everything she said was the truth. He couldn't run or shy away from it.

"She did so much for you...gave up so much for you...lost so much because of you..."

She broke off with a shiver.

"You never deserved her."

He took a breath and bowed his head in resignation.

"I know."

What could he say? What else could he possibly say? What would make up for his betrayal?

"Even now...after everything...you got a second chance you shouldn't have." She glared up at him, eyes tearing. "Why do you get to have another chance when she couldn't?"

She sobbed.

"It's not fair."

He hesitated.

"I know..."

* * *

It wasn’t worth it some days, Felix moaned to himself internally. It just wasn’t.

Finding Marinette had somehow been the easy part. But for all that he had tried to help, Tikki had been sick and Marinette needed to take her to a healer.

In the meantime, Felix was trapped in a hotel room with Chat Noir, the head butler, and Chloe herself—who as part of some payback for her earlier cruelty had been the victim of a particular blast of Rose’s perfume. One that left her smelling rancid in a way that no one could stand for long.

Even worse in that she was refusing to be by herself, insisting on staying glued to Chat Noir’s side for lack of Ladybug present in the silly belief that the spotted heroine will be arriving for her soon. Chat clearly was not having an easy time of it. But neither were Felix nor Jean, as the room they were holed up in was one of the smaller versions for "cheaper guests". There was space for them all, sure, but Chloe’s reek was strong enough to permeate the room as easily as a scented candle.

Nobody was happy about this.

Felix, for his part, was staying near the door. Partly for the sake of distance from Chloe, but also to offer an added buffer against anyone who may try to burst in. Not that he would do much good compared to Chat Noir, but they were reaching a point where the hero would be needed. Once all the noise outside and sound of footsteps of the various minions faded, he would suggest Chat leave and go to assist Ladybug. Surely, Marinette would have gotten Tikki healed by now. It’s been about how long it took last time, near as he could figure.

All he had to do was just bar the door, keep any entrances closed, sit tight, and wait this out—

“I can’t take the stench anymore!”

“Hey!”

“I'm getting the window open!”

Felix froze.

“NO!”

“Uh oh!”

“My prince~!”

##  **OF ALL THE IDIOTIC—**

Within an instant, Chat Noir foiled all of Felix’s carefully laid plans by opening the window. One that led to a perfectly placed balcony in full view of the growing army of singing minions. And sure enough, having been alerted as to which room they were in, Princess Fragrance was just waiting for an opportunity like this—one that Chat Noir in all his idiocy just handed her!

She let loose a cloud of perfume that engulfed Chat, Chloe, and Jean within seconds. Felix, fortunately, being far back enough by hanging near the door still, was just out of reach of the immediate cloud. Not to mention that of the four of them, he was the only one still wearing the face mask to offer at least some protection.

Enough for him to stave off the effects of the perfume if he didn’t get too close. But not enough to stave off actual attacks from the akuma or her ever increasing multitude of servants.

“Now, Kitty! Do be a dear and bring my Prince to me!”

Case in point.

“Yes, your hi~ghness~!”

Felix wanted to scream.

Oh, he very much wanted to scream.

There was no time for screaming though, as he shoved the ornate chair he had previously been using to block the door at his approaching pursuers, slammed the door open, and bolted back down the hallway and away from the akuma and her growing entourage.

Luckily and unluckily, Chat Noir gave chase. Still stupidly singing out pleas for Felix to return and tell the Princess where her Prince was.

Nope. Nope. He was not having any of that today. Hell, as far as he was concerned, his daily requirement of good deeds was officially met for the day. Maybe the week. He was done.

Marinette had Tikki back and Ladybug would be making an appearance soon enough.

But…

Would she be able to defeat Princess Fragrance alone from this point?

He hesitated, which was just enough to allow his replacement to catch up to him.

“I found you~!”

But Felix had been Chat Noir longer.

And he had been training a heck of a lot harder.

Granted, he’d been preparing himself for the eventual Clash with Adrien over the mantle rather than because the other boy became an akuma’s minion, but the tricks he’d learned and strength he’d built were still just as useful in the moment.

And he wouldn’t deny there was at least some satisfaction in the sensation of his leg slamming into the other boy’s chest and sending him into a wall. Before he could even attempt to get up, a shelf lost it’s connection to the wall on one side, leading to several rather heavy items slipping off the edge and landing right on Chat’s head.

Perhaps he had put a bit of his still remaining bad luck energy into that kick? Or perhaps it was Adrien’s own bad luck at play? Regardless, Felix was a mix of grateful and amused at the way events played out.

Cautiously, he approached the other boy. It might have been a trick after all. But several moments passed and Felix confirmed that yes, Chat was knocked out.

Now would be a perfect time to escape. Let Ladybug figure things out. Let events unfold without his interference. Let things continue as they should.

And yet…

The Ring seemed to gleam, as if drawing him to it. And it quite possibly was. He could feel the energy between them. He could sense the connection. He still carried a piece of Plagg’s power within him, after all.

It was an opportunity. He could pass it up. He should pass it up.

He grit his teeth in agitation.

“To hell with it.”

After all the torment he’d suffered under the Ring’s curse, he couldn’t help but feel insulted at how easy the Ring just slipped from Adrien’s hand. Maybe it was because the curse had only been his? Maybe he had the worst of it since he’d been the one to feel its full effects? Or maybe Adrien was just that lucky?

Still, within seconds, he had the Ring settled in the palm of his hand and a green light changed Chat Noir into a very unconscious Adrien Agreste. Not a shock to Felix, but it was still unsettling.

Given the way Plagg was staring up at him, he must have felt similarly.

“Felix.”

“Plagg.”

The kwami hesitated. “Are you really going to initiate the Clash like this?”

He paused. It would be very easy to. With Adrien unconscious and off guard, Felix would win easily. There would be no conflict, no contest from there and Felix would be free to find an appropriate candidate for his mantle in peace.

But that wasn’t why he was here, he reminded himself.

“Not yet.”

He couldn’t help the shudder.

“I don’t want it.”

Not like this.

Never again, if he could help it.

“I’m only going to be a temporary substitute for now. Just for this crisis. After that, I’ll let him have it back.”

_For now_ , went unsaid.

Plagg looked uncertain. “You know it’s not yours anymore. Not after what you did.”

“It’s still partly mine.” Felix replied. “And that means I have to make sure it ends up with the right person.”

That got the kwami’s attention. “ _That’s_ what you’re doing?”

Felix didn’t respond. Given how disastrous events had gone the last time around, it should already have been clear that he wasn’t fit to bear the Ring. He never had been.

But if nothing else, he would be damned sure that whatever Chat Noir ended up existing in this world wouldn’t be the same. Even if that meant taking it away from Adrien and as far away from anyone bearing the Agreste name as possible.

“You can’t just decide that.”

“Actually, I can.” Felix replied. And the bad luck energies that continued to exist in his body sparked as if in agreement. “Part of your power is still with me. Until the Clash…I have time to decide who I want to replace me.”

“You’ve made your share of mistakes.” Plagg hissed. “Adrien isn’t you. He deserves a chance!”

“And he will have it. Until he proves himself—whether worthy or unworthy.”

Plagg gaped up at him in surprise.

“If he proves himself by my standards, I will step aside.” Felix stated. Not that he expected it, given what he had seen of the other so far. But the current Chat Noir still had potential nonetheless. And while foolish, he hadn’t shown himself capable of the same intentional betrayal Felix had.

_Yet._

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I will take the Ring and pass it on to someone who can.”

The part of him that hadn’t stopped screaming since feeling her body go cold in his arms was against it. Screaming at him to do it now and get it over with. But even that part of him was doing this for her just as much as the rest of him. He couldn’t forget her. Would never forget.

She would want him to give the boy a chance.

So he would.

However, right now, what they needed wasn’t a chance for Adrien.

But for Marinette.

For Marinette…

_“Plagg. Transform me.”_

Just for today, he would be Chat Noir.


	2. Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix Culpa: In which Felix doesn’t make a friend so much as is claimed as a lifelong ally in the strangest of pursuits.

* * *

It had been a nice day. Sunny weather. A few clouds. Not too hot. An all around perfect day to lie about spending outside with others to his overly concerned guardians.

He probably should feel bad about outright planning to be dishonest as he took his lunch to a dark and quiet area of the courtyard hidden mostly in shade where he knew he wouldn’t be bothered, but Felix was a particularly spiteful person and really, they should know better by now than to expect any differently of him. He was “technically” outside. And he could “technically” say he spent the lunch hour around people given the random folks milling around the area but still far away and not in any way interacting with him.

It wasn’t like they would actually probe him for details.

He was fine with this. Most people knew to avoid him. And those who didn’t still wouldn’t go out of their way to come this far out just to bother him. He was expecting to spend the rest of the lunch hour in peaceful solitude.

“Meow.”

And yet he still somehow had an intruder.

A non-human intruder, but an intruder nonetheless.

He eyed the little thing. Black fur. Short haired. Big green eyes staring up at him. And its proportions seemed…off.

In short, it was by far the strangest cat he’d seen.

And yes, he had seen many. He’d been forced to, given how many models and rich socialites would insist on showing off their precious pets to anyone who happened to be available—which with his luck, usually tended to be him. He’d long lost the bother to count how many pictures of some particular animal he’d had shoved in his view with insistence that “you just HAVE to see!” All while inwardly feeling a mix of pity for the poor creature he was viewing and annoyance that the creature had to exist for him to be regaled with.

He’d seen every “Mittens”, “Fluffy”, “Mopsey”, “Cuddles”, and even one “Demon-Born Hellspawn—What Kind of Cat Is This Thing Anyway?”

Given the way the wife screeched and started arguing with her husband over how that was not “Beatrice’s” name, Felix wisely chose not to comment that the cat in question was actually a bobcat and probably not appropriate as a household pet.

Regardless, none of those creatures held a candle to this one. From the common to the exotic to the even endangered, there had been nothing like the little ball of fur before him. His first instinct was to say it was a cat. But the proportions were wrong. Impossible even. What cat had a head that big in comparison to the rest of its body? How could it even stay upright like that? And what was that weird thing on its head? Whiskers, he knew about, but not only one on each cheek and certainly not one coming out of the middle of its head.

What WAS this thing?

He didn’t bother to ask the question out loud. It was some manner of animal, after all, and there was clearly no one else in the immediate vicinity to respond anyway. He questioned if he should perhaps move. What if it was dangerous? The childish inclination to poke at it was one he stamped down on quite vehemently because he damn well knew better than to try touching a wild animal.

He should probably back away and leave the thing be. But in his moment of hesitation, whatever-it-was only came closer to him.

No wait—not him.

Felix blinked in surprise as the creature pawed at the box containing his lunch. After a couple of seconds of fruitless pawing, it looked up at him, pitifully.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Meow.” It replied, and if Felix didn’t know better, he would think that had to be the most obvious and fakest-sounding cat noise he’d ever heard. Almost like a person just saying “meow”.

But of course, animals don’t talk. Which Felix reminded himself after realizing he was staring down at the cat with an eyebrow raised in disbelief—enough so that the cat almost seemed admonished for its poor rendition of its own animal sound. But of course that wasn’t the case. That would be silly. (So he told himself. Which was the only reason he didn’t follow up the look with a criticism to make Simon Cowell proud.)

Still, the cat was determined and pawing again at the box and looking all the more pitiful for it.

The courtyard area was practically empty. No one would ever know.

And Felix did have a soft spot for cats.

So he opened the lunch box. The cat’s eyes almost gleamed at the sight. Again, that couldn't be right. He had to be imagining it. Because why would any cat be interested in Camembert of all things?

His lunch for the day was a small meal of Camembert in sourdough with spices and ham.

He could swear the cat was drooling at the sight of it.

…Felix sighed.

And silently shifted the container closer to the cat, much to its glee.

He wasn’t hungry anyway. (And if he was, watching the thing make short work of the meal was enough to curb his appetite)

It wasn’t until afterwards when the creature started licking its paws to get the last of the meal that Felix thought to consider if cats were supposed to eat cheese. Or bread. Or garlic.

…well, it seemed fine at any rate as it started to rub its head against his arm and purr in contentment.

“You only like me because I fed you.”

The cat didn’t deny it.

* * *

_“Plagg! Where have you been?”_

_“I’ve been cheated! CHEATED, I TELL YOU!”_

_“What?”_

_“All this time I could have been privy to the multitude of flavors. All the ways its true glory could be achieved."_

_“…what?”_

_“Why was I cursed with a chosen blind to the succulent art of food?”_

_“Plagg, it’s just Camembert!”_

_“JUST Camembert, he says! Oh Tikki, if you could see the way he mistreats me!”_

_“PLAGG!”_


	3. Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix Culpa: Felix has a bad time.
> 
> I'm sorry, Felix.

* * *

Felix liked boredom.

Being bored was simple. It was a state of mind in which he could exercise full control over himself, his thoughts, and his actions. Most people would complain about the state of lack of interest. For Felix, that simply showed a person’s own inability to make adequate use of their free time. People regularly complaining of having nothing to do generally lacked imagination or motivation to actually try anything.

Felix couldn’t understand.

And as someone who had so little of it to begin with, Felix appreciated it whenever he was able to have it.

Then there was the OTHER meaning of boredom and the reason Felix found himself enjoying it so much more lately.

Such a reminder came yet again as he was hiding under a bench.

“AKUMA!”

“FELIX! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Ah yes, there was that.

Boredom meant that nobody was trying to kill him.

Which unfortunately with him living in Paris, happened more often than he would prefer.

The “attempting to kill him” part. Not the much less dangerous and non-life threatening “boredom” part.

Then there were the lovesick ones that didn’t try to kill him so much as make him want to kill himself. Whether out of sheer mortification of the entire situation or by resorting to gnawing his arm off if one should manage to get to him. Don’t test him. He’s forced himself to be ambidextrous for this very reason!

“My Darling! I’ve found you!”

Case in point.

“Felix, my love~!” The particularly…pink and heart-adorned akuma squealed upon seeing him.

“Dammit!” He hissed as he took off immediately as fast as he possibly could. Because he’s learned his lesson quite well since last time and a love akuma was NOT something he wanted to face again thankyouverymuch!

“Darling~! Come back!”

Like _hell!_

Could he go back to being bored?

_Please?_


	4. Kwami Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clash of Noir: Felix decides it is time to step in himself. But he's going to need a Miraculous to do it.
> 
> Good thing he happens to know where one is...

* * *

Felix would have been content to disappear along with any trace of his transgressions. All the damage he had done, all the harm he had caused…and undoing it all with his final act. He had expected that to the be the end for him. He had fully believed that that he would fade away.

If anything, he was somewhat resentful that he hadn’t.

Being forced to see what the world would be if he wasn’t in it was…both sad and intriguing. There was a strange question regarding existentialism that he may very well be the first and only one capable of answering if he could actually stand to contemplate it.

But if living in this world where he didn’t exist and no one knew him was to be his penance, he would have accepted it. He would have done so gladly.

Except that it seemed his failures didn’t end with him.

He was…furious, if he was being honest. Another boy in his place? Living his life and even becoming the hero he had once been? Making all the same selfish choices and mistakes he had made?

Was it some kind of sick joke? Or maybe this was his price for his wrongs? This though…it was the one thing about this new life he could not—WOULD not stand for.

He could have handled watching Marinette and everyone else he had known living happily without him. It was depressing, but he would have been satisfied. But he couldn’t simply stand by and watch everything happen all over again at someone else’s hands.

He didn’t trust himself. He knew full well that he was the least capable of being a hero—the least worthy to trust with the duties and powers that came with it.

And by all counts, Adrien Agreste WAS him.

Sure, the boy was an alternate version of Felix, but he was still _some_ version of Felix as far as he was concerned. And for that reason alone, he couldn’t trust him, no matter what platitudes he had tried to tell himself at the beginning.

And he was right to doubt. Because after seeing his replacement in action…

…he had _concerns_ , to say the least. And that was putting it nicely. Even after a few hours of panic and fighting his gut reaction to simply knock the boy out and pry the damn Ring off his finger.

(The irony that he did end up doing just that by accident much later on was not lost on him.)

It wasn’t right. Adrien was different, but he was still Felix. He would make the same mistakes. He would fail. He would hurt her. Irrevocably.

And then what would have been the point of his sacrifice?

Felix was selfish. He would fully admit to that. Even as he knew he had no right to complain after what he had done before…

…was it really so wrong to want his sacrifice to mean something even if he no longer did?

He didn’t dare ask. There was no one to ask it of, but he still didn’t dare to voice it out loud. He knew he didn’t deserve it.

But whatever he did deserve, Marinette didn’t deserve to go through this again—regardless of whether or not she remembered it.

An irrational fear came to mind that this was some sort of cycle. That Chat Noir would fail, Ladybug would die, and the human who was Chat Noir would make a wish that would start it all over again with someone new.

Even if it wasn’t, he had no intention of allowing it to be.

So Felix chose to act first.

He couldn’t take the Ring. Not yet, at least. He wouldn’t be able to bring himself to use it and he still had yet to find a suitable successor.

But the revelation that there were more Miraculous in the world meant that there were still other options. Including one that he hadn’t been aware of the first time around.

How fortunate was it then, that some things remained the same in this new world? Access codes. Security cameras. A safe combination. And a certain brooch that was easily overlooked for what it truly was.

Why his father had it in either timeline, Felix didn’t know anymore than he knew why he had the book about Miraculous. He wasn’t in much of a position to interrogate him, unfortunately. Though that was something he could do another day.

In the meantime, he had questions to ask. And a new ally to answer them.

“Who are you?” He asked the kwami once it appeared.

The little thing stared up at him blankly.

“Dusuu. Kwami of the Peacock Miraculous.”

A Peacock?

Interesting. It brought to mind many myths of old. How the birds were considered ill omens in some cultures and able to foretell death. How in other cultures, they were considered symbols of immortality and resurrection, the earthly Phoenix. And one story in particular...an old myth he had read of a guardian with a hundred eyes whom served a Goddess. Upon his death, his eyes were immortalized upon the tail of the Peacock.

Argos, his name was.

How fitting.


	5. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix Culpa: An alternative for Party Crasher.

* * *

***Bring! Bring!***

His phone was ringing again. After intentionally ignoring the calls from the girls, Nino was starting to get wary. Wary and weary. He checked his phone once again only to sigh in relief when it was Felix this time. He must be calling about the party, so Nino picked up with a grin.

“Hey, dude! Where you at?”

_“I’m at the park, fulfilling my prior obligation.”_

Nino blinked in surprise. “Dude, why are you doing that? I told you about the plan, didn’t I?”

There was a harsh whisper on Felix’s end of the line before he gave a small sigh and started speaking.

_“I am apparently being coerced to give you fair warning that the girls know what you and the others are really doing and they are rather cross with you.”_

Nino’s jerked upright at that.

“WHAT?! How did they find out?”

A couple of the others noticed his distress and came over in concern.

_“Apparently with notably less people, they needed more equipment and sent Marinette and Rose to get more supplies. On the way back, they met up with a young man—I think you know him as Wayhem? He was particularly distressed about not being able to get into the party and told them what was going on at the Agreste Mansion. He says ‘hi’ by the way.”_

That explained how the girls knew about the party, at least.

“But…how did they know it was us?”

_“I told them.”_

“Dude! Why would you do that?!” Nino demanded in outrage, getting the attention of others around him. Seeing the way they were staring at him in confusion and approaching him, Nino put the phone on speaker so they could all listen in.

_“It seemed the better option to simply be honest and tell the girls.”_

“What happened to Bro Code?”

_“Self-preservation_ happened.” Came the rather blunt response. _“I’m currently being held hostage by a crowd of angry women just looking for a reason to start clawing eyes out. And I like my eyes more than I like you._ ”

With the other boys nearby and able to hear Felix, they seemed less than impressed with his statements or the implications of the girls knowing. More started to crowd the phone as they tried to work out the situation.

“Are you really scared of some girls?“ Kim asked.

There was a pause.

_“Girls have sharp nails and fight dirty. I’m not going to test my luck.”_

The boys winced at that because yeah, he had a point.

Nino groaned. “Man, why didn’t you just come to the party from the start?!”

_“Because when you’re inviting every male in Paris to a party at Adrien Agreste’s mansion with a petty ‘no girls allowed’ rule to try to hide what you’re doing, it’s bound to get back to the girls in question that you ditched them and lied about it. There is no amount of effort on my part that could save you at that point.”_

“Couldn’t you have tried?”

_“I can’t exactly argue with photographs and video footage.”_

Nino paled. “Footage?”

_“It’s pretty hard to miss the line of males entering the mansion that people generally aren’t allowed into. Or Jagged Stone with a megaphone and leaping in through a window from a helicopter.”_

He winced.

“Oh yeah…that.”

_“What made you think you could hide a party of this magnitude anyway?”_ Felix asked, genuinely curious. _“Why would you send out a mass invite? And how did you expect that nobody would figure it out when the attendees include a rock star and the Mayor of the city?”_

Several persons coughed or looked away at that, trying to edge out of sight as if Felix and the girls could be glaring at them through the phone.

“Okay, I see your point.” Nino admitted. “But the girls…are they mad?”

_“Oh, they’re furious.”_ The blond on the other end replied, entirely too calm and forthright for anyone’s comfort.

The boys gulped.

“Like…silent treatment furious or ‘expect an akuma’ furious?” Ivan asked, warily.

Felix hummed for a moment as if considering. _“I think Marinette is trying to prevent the latter. She made a very inspiring speech about ‘Hawk Moth can only target those who can’t see a solution to their problems’. So they’re trying to come up with solutions now.“_

“Oh, that’s good.” Leave it to Marinette to keep everything calm and orderly.

_“Not really. Their list of solutions mostly involve things they want to do to you. None of them are pleasant.”_

All of the males in the general vicinity started to sweat.

_“It sounds like they’re still debating some manner of using you as fertilizer for the trees they’re planting or to get revenge with their own ‘girls only’ party.”_

“So…uh…where do they stand?” Nathaniel asked, hoping it would be the latter.

_“They seem to want to do both.”_

Nino groaned. “How are we gonna handle this one?”

_“I believe that will be your problem to deal with.”_

“Come on, it was for Adrien!” The capped boy exclaimed. “They aren’t really going to make him suffer and feel guilty just because we threw him a party the one time we got a chance, are they?”

Adrien looked from Nino to the phone in worry. He hadn’t meant to make the girls upset. They weren’t too angry, were they? This wouldn’t ruin his friendship with them, would it?

There was some discussion on the other end of the line for almost a good minute before Felix returned.

_“They say Adrien can come to the girls’ party.”_

Adrien brightened. “Thanks!”

“Oh come on!” Several of the males exclaimed.

“That’s just not fair!”

Felix sighed on the other end of the line. _“Perhaps you should have considered that before lying to the women in your lives and reneging on your prior commitments. Or going to a party in a teenage boy’s room just because his father is not there. You are aware Gabriel Agreste will also find out about this, right? And that he does have cameras to know who all has entered his home while he was gone?”_

Everyone froze.

And almost immediately started to vacate the premises with a myriad of excuses. Soon enough, only the boys were left. And of course, Felix on the phone.

It seemed the party was over at that.

Nino rubbed the back of his head. “Look, we will come and help now.”

_“I wouldn’t recommend that. Right now, the girls don’t want to see you.”_ There was some discussion on the other end of the line before Felix resumed speaking. _“Stay and finish your party. They said they will see you on Monday. And specifically that they had better NOT see you before then.”_

The boys winced, realizing they would definitely be in for it come then.

_“In the meantime, the girls are going to continue the community project as promised. They have some anger to burn off it seems.”_

The boys winced again. Hopefully, their anger will be worked off as extra energy and they’ll be too tired come Monday. Or at least calmer and not as inclined to enact unholy vengeance.

In retrospect, maybe they should have been honest with the girls from the start? Or at least thought this through better.

_“Might I recommend some more careful planning this time?”_ Felix suggested, almost as if he could read their thoughts. _“Perhaps some gifts might help? And groveling.”_

Because yeah, it went without saying that there would be some serious groveling on their part.

“Thanks, Felix. We’ll—we’ll get right on that.”

Felix gave another hum.

_“Enjoy your party.”_

***Click!***


	6. First Aid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps the first recorded instance of Felix and Manon interaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Who put this fluff here?

* * *

“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” Marinette chanted to herself as she tried to rush back to her house as quickly as possible.

It had happened again. Despite the schedule and planning everything out. Despite practicing and training herself to say “no” so she didn’t overwhelm herself. Despite _everything_ she had promised and reassured herself, she ended up taking on too much again and overbook.

To be fair, she’d planned everything out appropriately. Today had been her pre-arranged time with Felix to work on their project for school. It had been the only thing she’d arranged for the day and she had made sure to set up a good block of time so they could get it done without any interruption.

Except then Ms. Chamack had arrived in a panic needing her to watch Manon and it was an emergency and she’d pay double if she could just watch Manon for a few hours pretty-please? And there was Manon looking so excited and yet so nervous like she was worried Marinette would say no—and Marinette knew that if she did, Ms. Chamack didn’t have anyone else and would be forced to leave Manon at the station and it was so boring for her there that she'd likely end up running around or getting in the way which would just make everyone frustrated as Manon just wanted some attention and her mother really needed to focus on her work. Then there was Nadja looking so hopeful and Manon giving the puppy eyes and…she couldn’t…she just _couldn’t_.

“You’re too nice, you know that.” Felix had commented once she had gone back to their study area with a happy Manon in tow.

She didn’t argue. She couldn’t. Because he was right—and it said something in that he was at least more polite in how he said it compared to how he would have only a month prior so there was that.

It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal though. She had already informed Ms. Chamack of this and while uncertain of Felix since they hadn’t met before, whatever was going on was important and she was still willing to have her daughter stay even with him there. Marinette for her part knew she could multitask and work on the project with Felix while still watching Manon. They could just put a movie on for her while they worked. Or she’d let Manon play with the dolls on her own for a while. Manon could entertain herself for a time, they just needed to keep an eye on her to make sure she behaved and stayed safe. It was more than she had planned for, but it was still manageable.

But then the akuma happened. And wasn’t it just like Hawk Moth to cause trouble right when she needed it least? Or maybe that was just her own bad luck?

So Marinette had claimed she needed to get something for the project and asked Felix to watch Manon until she returned. He looked…startled at that, which was certainly a new look for him. He had agreed in the end though, with the request that she hurry. Marinette made a note to split the difference of the double pay with him all the same for the trouble.

She hadn’t meant to impose on Felix in this way, but what else could she do when she had to find something to do with Manon while she dealt with the akuma? She didn’t think it would take as long as it did, but even if it had been a relatively short battle compared to most, it was still an extended period of time that she left her charge in the hands of her somewhat aloof and socially awkward classmate.

There was no telling how Manon would get along with Felix…or how Felix would manage Manon. What if she threw a tantrum? What if she was too rambunctious for him? What if this ruined the project? What if they had gotten injured?

What if—what if— _what if—?_

She booked it the final stretch back to her house and up the stairs. Her parents hadn’t seemed worried when she passed them, so there’d been no screaming or injuries at least.

But Felix wasn’t good with social interaction. He tended to come off as crude and disparaging because of it, and it would set people off. Alya especially despised him for that reason—and because she'd yet to actually win an argument with him. Even the other classmates, while a bit less troubled about it than Alya, still struggled in talking with him. Sure, Marinette understood him, but most people just…didn’t.

And Manon was a child. A highly excitable and easily frustrated child. If she could get akumatized over limits being set by her mother, it stood to reason that Felix’s temperament could set her off—or at least cause a tantrum.

Marinette warily approached her room, not hearing anything except low talking. Maybe…maybe everything was okay?

When she opened the door and peeked inside, it was to a…rather confusing sight of a heavily bandaged Felix. She nearly screamed upon first seeing him.

What had—?

How—?

Why was—?

Except then she took in the rest of the scene.

Felix was sitting up, leaning against the wall with his leg held out—well, less held out and more being held by Manon by the foot while was carefully wrapping some gauze around his ankle with a look of intense concentration on her face.

“Like this?” She asked, not looking up from her work.

“Tighter. Not too tight, though.” He explained as he gestured to the ankle she was working on. “You want it to be taut enough to keep the ankle from moving but not soo much that it cuts off circulation.”

She wrapped the gauze around his foot once, frowning.

“Not like that. It needs to be a figure-eight pattern. Here.” He drew his leg back to himself. He unwrapped the gauze and then held his foot up at a 90 degree angle. “Start with the foot like this. Actually—try it on yourself along with me so you can see what I'm talking about. I have an extra roll.” He reached over to the chair where his bag was to pull out a roll—and with no difficulty or strain in his movements.

So he wasn’t injured at least, Marinette gave a sigh of relief as she entered the room.

“What’s going on?” She asked, genuinely curious. “Felix, are you okay? You look like you’ve lost a fight.”

Manon beamed up at Marinette proudly. “I’m learning to be a doctor!”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, unable to help the smile. “Really now?”

“I’m teaching her First Aid, actually.” Felix replied, coming back with another two rolls of gauze in hand. “She’s practiced bandaging various ‘injuries’ on me so far. Now we’re going over how to do compression wrapping for a sprained ankle.”

He looked up at her. This was Felix. Strait-laced, serious Felix. And here he was, with a bandage around his head and his arm in the remains of a sling looking for all intents like one of those wounded extras in a movie.

She couldn’t help it. After the stress and the worry and the discovery of him wrapped in bandages only to find out none of it was necessary…she couldn’t hold back the giggles.

Felix frowned, unimpressed. “That’s right. Just let it aaaaall out. It’s going to be your turn, next.”

“Really now?” She asked, still chuckling.

He gave her a smirk before turning to Manon. “What do you say, Manon? How would you like to practice on Marinette?”

The girl squealed at that and looked up at Marinette in excitement. “Really? Will you? Please! Please! Pleeeeease!”

And there were those eyes again.

Next thing Marinette knew, she was on her back from an imaginary injury while Felix directed Manon in applying a tourniquet to her leg. It didn’t help that she was especially ticklish and that _someone_ was taking full advantage of this.

Felix would deny doing so, of course. But that damned smirk made it clear he was lying.


	7. Magic AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new AU unrelated to my others with "Grumpy Wizard Felix".
> 
> Because is there really any other kind?

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of wealth and great prosperity. But of course it was, for one of the leaders of this land was a noble of the Agreste household, Gabriel.

He was a stern lord, but not cruel. And while not necessarily loved, he was certainly well respected and admired by the people. So it was with great joy when he was married to Emilie in a tale the likes of which Cinderella would later be based on. Their home was a happy one, especially after she gave birth and Gabriel had an heir through which he could pass down his wisdom and skills, and forge into a worthy legacy.

But all was not right with the boy. Whatever flaws Gabriel had were magnified in the child. Cold. Aloof. Withdrawn. Gloomy. He gave off a rather unsettling aura that would often drive most sensible folk away.

Even worse, it soon became evident that the boy was…unnatural and capable of the worst sorts of sorcery. Things would break in his presence without being touched. Many would suddenly trip or be subjected to sudden injuries. Great works of art and manufacture would age and decay quickly. On one such occasion when his father required him to learn swordplay, the boy took offense and the metal rusted and turned to dust in his hands.

Everyone was fearful of him. All except the boy’s mother, who loved him dearly and was intent to see the best of him regardless of his strangeness. Many begged the lord to send the possessed child away or otherwise take other means to end his reign of terror to restore peace, but out of love for his wife, the lord relented and showed the boy mercy.

A mercy he came to regret soon enough, as the time came that even the beloved mother was struck down by the boy’s power. For all of Gabriel’s efforts, she continued to waste away. He scoured the land, seeking witches and wizards, archaic tomes, ancient rituals, and any manner of healing power to attempt to revive her.

All to no effect.

But he was desperate. And no matter how many failures and how many doctors and healers told him there was nothing to be done, he refused to give up on her. So caught up in his attempts to restore his wife, the man had foolishly neglected to manage his own son.

At least, until the day the heir summoned a demon.

It was a ravenous creature. Insatiable and deranged. Under the boy’s command, it attacked his father and ruined a good half of the manor in which they lived. Servants fled in terror. The creature stalked the halls, delighting in the fear it caused to anyone unfortunate enough to cross it. None dared to approach the house. People sought for an answer, but nothing could be done. After all, Felix was the heir. What could they do?

Luckily, there was a second son who was less disastrously inclined and with a much sweeter and more manageable temperament. And who did not have a pet demon to sic on people he didn’t like. 

So the Lord Agreste promptly named young Adrien his heir and cast Felix out of the family.

Ousted from his noble position and banished from his home, the older son swore revenge and fled to another land with his demon, where he only grew in power and _evil_. Despite attempts to search for him and arrest him for his crimes and sorcery, he was nowhere to be found. Many knights were sent after him only to return in failure—if they returned at all. Much misfortune befell those whom encountered him.

Some say he opened a gateway to the Underworld where he is amassing an army of the undead. Some say he set up a lair within a volcano, guarded by dragons. Others will claim that he took over an innocent village and transformed the people there into monstrosities. Then there was one person who said he started up a school somewhere.

Nobody could quite agree on just what happened to him, actually.

But everyone knew, yes, _everyone knew!_ There was only destruction where he tread. Only danger in his home. Each day that passed, he only grew in skill and evil. All feared him. None with any sense dared to confront him and those that did would not get a chance to regret doing so.

Everyone knew that one day he would return and bring calamity upon them all.

Everyone knew that he would seek revenge against those who had cast him out.

And _everyone knew_ that to this end, he had kidnapped the fair Marinette, a lady of great purity and healing magic the likes of which the kingdom had not seen in ages.

Yes, **_everyone knew._**

Everyone that is, except for Felix himself.

“How did you get in my house?”

When Felix had woken up that morning, he knew immediately that something wasn’t right.

Mostly because he actually woke up of his own volition instead of due to being scratched by an annoyed and hungry demon or from the sound of something being knocked off a shelf by said demon to get his attention. Plagg was rather petulant that way. It came with being a creature of destruction and ill fortune. As well as a demon. And one Felix had yet to figure out how to banish—though heaven knows he was trying.

Since the unfortunate circumstances of their initial meeting, the menace had been a thorn in his side, seeking any means to vex him. One of said means was waking him in the early hours of the morn to whine for food. And become rather destructive and impossible to ignore if food was not granted immediately thereafter.

The only time he didn’t bother Felix was if something else had his attention. Which was never a good thing.

So he sighed, put on his robes, and prepared himself for whatever headache was waiting for him.

Which happened to be a young lady in his kitchen. Clearly making something that smelled lovely and belonging in a bakery rather than his tower. Plagg, the little traitor, was cozying up to her quite easily.

The lady smiled, polite but clearly nervous.

“Hello! My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I came to request your teaching into the use of magic and sorcery—”

“One, I’m not a teacher." Felix stated, cutting her off without preamble. "And two, that doesn’t explain how you got into my kitchen.”

“Oh, I let her in.” Plagg spoke up, appearing all too pleased from his spot next to her.

Felix’s eye twitched. “Why?”

“She smelled nice and had free food.”

Ah. There’s that headache.

“She’s a keeper, kid. Don’t send her away.”

“Quiet, demon.”

Because of course the demon would betray him and open him up to a potential threat for food. Plagg would deny it with silly claims that ‘she’s not really a threat’, but how would he even know when he’s stuffing his face and leaving Felix to deal with the aftermath.

It was Paris all over again.

“I’m sorry,” the lady—Marinette spoke up, noticing his mood. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You shouldn’t have been able to intrude at all.” He told her, not just a bit put out by the whole thing.

She blinked, surprised. “Really?”

He glared at her, though whether in frustration from her continued unexplained presence or the growing headache, he was struggling to determine.

“I made this place impossible to reach with that goal in mind, yes.”

That only seemed to confuse her more. “But…it wasn’t that hard to get here.”

Felix would be insulted, except that up until this point no one else had managed to reach the land around his Tower, much less enter. From her expression, the girl wasn’t bragging or trying to show off. She was truly surprised by his answer. So that meant she must have some skill and thankfully no ego for him to have to deal with.

There was that at least.

Regardless, he still needed to know how a stranger made it into his home. Mostly so he could further improve his protections to prevent it from happening again.

“How did you get here?”

“Oh, well I asked for directions.” She replied all too cheerfully.

That had to be a lie.

“Except that nobody has directions to get through the Lost Forest.” He stated in irritation. Honestly, her presence was already impressive, the least she could do was not lie about it.

She blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“That’s why it’s called the ‘Lost Forest’. Who would you even get directions from?”

She smiled uncertainly, but answered. “Well, I asked the nice fairies—”

Felix blanched at that. “From _forest fae?_ ”

“They were quite kind.”

“They **eat** people.”

She coughed. “I’m sure that’s just a rumor.”

“The trees are literally made out of people they’ve led astray and fed to them.” He politely—in his personal opinion—avoided questioning how she DIDN’T notice the twisted horror of the trees in question. “Why would they help you?”

She shrugged. “I offered them gingerbread men and asked for directions to get here.”

He stared, surprised at that.

…Huh. So they had a weakness for sugar. Or perhaps treats in the shape of people. He would need to keep that in mind.

“And what about the Gorge?” He asked.

“I crossed the bridge.”

He blinked.

“The Gorge doesn’t have a bridge.”

She beamed at that, appearing quite proud. “It does now.”

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What do yo—”

“And then I saw the Tower and headed here! There were a number of holes and vines blocking the way. You really need to clean up your lawn, it was difficult to get past the pitfalls and thorns. Someone could get caught and injured that way!”

Was she...

Was she _chastising_ him?

He stared.

“That would be because they are traps. That is what they are meant to do.”

She blushed at that realization. “Oh.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his head. “And how did you get past the door?”

“I knocked?” She answered, questioningly as if it should have been obvious.

“And I answered!” Plagg smugly added.

…This was it then. All his work, completely undone by an overly nice and cheerful lady who would no doubt be the death of him. And no thanks to his sole ally—if the thing could even be called that.

Felix glowered down at the creature. “And you didn’t think to perhaps warn me? Or at least not let in a potential threat?”

Of course, the glower had no effect. The little demon was more than used to it by now, and had no doubt encountered worse before he had ever been summoned. And Felix knew this after all this time, but he tried— _oh yes, he would still try._

Plagg just grinned cheekily up at him. “What would be the fun of that?”

“ _Fun_ isn’t supposed to be the priority here.”

“It should be. Hell knows you were a stick in the mud before you bound me.”

Marinette gasped at the little creature in surprise.

“You’re a demon? But you’re so tiny!”

“That’s because he hasn’t fed me!” Plagg exclaimed, looking up at her pitifully so as to garner sympathy.

She cooed and started petting the little beast. Oh lords, she was actually buying it!

Felix glared at the blasted hellion. “You eat three times your weight in cheese on a daily basis.”

Plagg didn’t deny it. And of course, the damned thing was completely unashamed. “Yeah, but I could eat four.”

Felix simply rolled his eyes.

Another day then. An unusual one, for sure. But another one.


	8. OT3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix comes to realize that Adrien isn't the only oblivious one.
> 
> Luckily, his partners love him anyway.

* * *

Felix had found himself in an unusual situation.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a flame in the form of a lovely young woman. She was an aspiring fashion designer full of passion, inspiration, and ingenuity. For all of her anxiety, she could keep a level head even if not necessarily a cool one and somehow always managed to get things done regardless of the situation.

It was not hard to fall in love with her.

Luka Couffaine was a river in the form of a gentle young man. He was a musician of great talent full of ideas, empathy, and a special means of conveying them to others. He was a soothing presence much like listening to the waves, able to calm others and create a sense of tranquility when one was feeling unstable.

It was similarly not hard to fall in love with him as well.

So when the two announced they were together, it only seemed fitting. And relieving to know that Marinette had chosen to move on from someone as painfully blind as Agreste. If he couldn’t tell she was in love with him for over a year, it was past time for her to give up on him. And he couldn’t think of a better person for her to choose to give her heart to than Luka.

Luka, another good friend whom he had known to be quite besotted with her as well almost since they had met. Seeing them together felt…fitting. Moreso than Marinette with Agreste. The two were perfect, playing off each other and both knowing the exact right things to say or do for any occasion. Their dates would be a mix of adventure or simple relaxation and just enjoying the company. Either of the two would be a soothing and pleasant presence, but having them together felt akin to the beach on a warm day.

It was no wonder they ended up together.

They were both…rather wonderful people. He couldn’t help but hold deep affection for them. And knowing they were happy together left him feeling happy as well. Their dates were full of affection and everything he had been told that such events should be. The evenings out together were sweet and enjoyable, really.

…he just didn’t understand why they kept inviting HIM.

Don't misunderstand! It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy spending time with them. It was just…strange to be a regular presence on their outings. He couldn’t even be upset at being a third wheel because they never failed to make him feel like a legitimate part of their dates. But he was under the impression that such events were meant to be specifically shared between the couple dating. Why go out of their way to involve him?

They should have. And yet they did. From picnics to cafes. From brunch at the Dupain-Cheng bakery to dinner with the Couffaines. From events like concerts to simple walks by the Seine. They kept inviting him and despite what he tried to tell himself...despite how many times he had told himself he would stop intruding, he could never bring himself to refuse them. Nor could he bring himself to regret it.

Was he…taking advantage of their kindness in some attempt to glean from the affections they held for each other?

Except…

Every date they had, they went out of their way to invite him. They made every effort to involve him, and they never let him feel like he wasn’t meant to be there. Then to add to the confusion, there was the matter of the strange reactions from everyone else.

_Kim nudging Marinette. “What must it be like to have a pretty boy to hold each arm?”_

_Alya frowning with eyebrow raised. “Kind of greedy there, don’t you think?”_

_Adrien smiling at him. “I think you three are good for each other.”_

_Lila glaring at Marinette. “Showing off, is that it? You can’t get Adrien, so you think numbers can make up for it?”_

_Anarka laughing loudly. “Aren’t you three just perfect for each other?”_

_Juleka giving him a glare. “Be good to them.” The ‘or else’ didn’t even need to be said._

_Tom beaming proudly, much to Marinette’s embarrassment. “It’s nice to know that my little girl has two wonderful young men taking such good care of her!”_

_His own mother, smiling softly. “I want you to know, Felix, that I support you. And I think you’ve made a wonderful choice.”_

It felt like he was missing something.

Even worse, it seemed that Felix was the only one to not know what it was.

It was during yet another date that Felix tried to piece all the clues together. They were at the park. Felix was reading without even really seeing the words. Luka was on one side, strumming a few notes on his guitar. Marinette was on the other, looking through a catalogue for fresh ideas.

With Felix right in the middle.

He wasn’t even pretending to read anymore, instead staring at the two in contemplation as his brain tried to make sense of the facts it had gathered.

They were spending every date with him.

Everyone else seemed to think they were a trio of some sort.

And the way they both looked at him…Marinette and Luka…

Was almost exactly the same way they looked at each other.

Suddenly, it hit him with all the force of a freight train.

Felix froze at the realization.

“Wait…are we dating?”

Both Marinette and Luka jumped at that before staring at him in surprise.

“Well, yeah. We thought you knew.” Luka said.

“We asked if you wanted to.” Marinette pointed out, a bit unsure.

He sputtered, looking—and feeling—completely undignified.

“WHEN?”

“Well…from the start.”

“WHAT?!”

It was perhaps the first time Felix ever yelled in such a way.

“We asked you if you wanted to go out with us.” Luka explained, gently.

Felix’s mind immediately took him back to that first time.

_“Hey, Felix.” Luka said as he and Marinette approached, both looking slightly apprehensive. “Mari and I were wondering if you would like to go out with us? With both of us. Together. On a date?”_

_"All right." Of course he agreed. Why wouldn't he? He did enjoy spending time with them when they were free, and it was kind of them to include him._

_Did they have to sound so_ _serious though?_

Felix groaned and covered his eyes.

Yes, he realized. Yes, they had. In those exact words. And he'd completely missed it.

“I thought…I hadn’t thought…”

Honestly, he didn’t even know anymore.

“We both like you, Felix.” Marinette told him. “Both Luka and I really do. We like each other and we like you and we thought…if you liked us…so we asked and you seemed okay with it.”

“So…this entire time." He said, looking to them both to confirm the truth he was just starting to wrap his head around. "Every date you both took me along with…”

“We were on that date with you just as much as each other, yes.” Luka replied, smiling a bit wryly now.

“And we’d like to continue. If-if you want to.” Marinette said, blushing.

He nodded in response, too bewildered to do otherwise.

Luka just laughed. “I can’t believe this whole time, you’ve been dating us without even knowing it!”

Even Marinette giggled at that.

Felix facepalmed.

…apparently Agreste wasn’t the only one oblivious.


	9. Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s something weird going on with Marinette. Felix doesn’t know just what it is. Maybe he can figure it out with a second glance.
> 
> Or a third.
> 
> Or a fourth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With special thanks to imthepunchlord

* * *

There was something off.

It started when he first encountered Marinette that morning. She had deviated from her standard outfit in favor of pink overalls. They were what many would consider “cute”, but it was a sudden change from her usual.

“Hello, Felix!” She chirped when she saw him.

“Good morning, Marinette.”

She seemed in a rather jovial mood, given how she brightened upon seeing him. It was a nice change from how frazzled she had appeared when they last parted.

“You seem to be doing better.” He told her.

She smiled nervously. “I just…worked out some things.”

Felix hoped that those things she worked out included standing up to her classmates and telling them to buzz off. But given the way she wouldn’t make eye contact with him, he realized that was rather unlikely.

It had been some sort of drama with Rossi, because of course it was. There hadn’t been a day where Rossi wasn’t at the center of some sort of drama—usually something she herself started.

The latest upset in this case had been in regards to a school dance that Marinette as the Class Representative had helped to get set up. She had done a good majority of the work to put it all together, advocating with the school administration to allow it and allocate a certain amount of funds. Researching and contracting a venue for a set date and time. Music, decorations, catering, everything. She had done it all and without going over the set budget. Everything was looking to be just fine!

And then Rossi had to open her big mouth.

There had been some over the top excuse involved, he was sure. But Felix had long since stopped paying attention to anything the witch would spout. He just knew that she couldn’t go on the set day because…something something puppies in Africa or somesuch. To be quite frank, he didn’t care what it was. If anything, he was relieved when she said she couldn’t make it, as the dance would more likely go better for everyone without her there.

But the liar then proceeded to sigh and bemoan how things seemed specifically scheduled just so she would be missing out on such a big event. Subtly implying Marinette’s dislike might have played into the decision of the date while ignoring that Marinette had no way of knowing Lila’s schedule to intentionally set it up that way. She gave a long sigh over how important such a dance is and how sad she would be to be left out and the next thing he knew, everyone else had started cooing over Lila and trying to offer reassurances that of course their Class Representative didn’t mean to leave her out and that she could certainly get the whole thing rescheduled JUST for her.

Except that the event was only a couple weeks away and Marinette had already set up everything. She had already made the arrangements, paid the various groups and agencies involved, and had been starting on flyers for the official announcement to the rest of the school when this mess ‘suddenly happened’. Which Felix was sure had nothing to do with the fact that they were all supposed to go to a movie as a group that weekend and trying to fix this would leave Marinette unable to attend it or any of the other outings the class had been planning for the coming weeks. Surely.

To her credit, Marinette tried to point out the issues without coming right out and telling them how downright unreasonable it was to insist on rescheduling a school-wide dance for the sake of one person they weren’t even sure wouldn’t be able to go. The venue and catering agency weren’t going to reschedule this late and the payments she had already made would not be refunded. It was questionable if they would even have another opening available given the numbers of parties and weddings and other functions they had to arrange for.

Even Bourgeois pointed out how illogical the entire thing was—in her own special way of “Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” As the daughter of a hotel owner, it stood to reason that she of all people would know the intricacies of event planning and coordination. He would almost be impressed at her speaking up on the matter if it weren’t for the fact she was only doing so because she had already arranged her whole day to prepare for the dance; including time at a spa, hair styling, and makeup. Still, at least she tried to speak up, even if it was only for her own personal benefit.

The classmates just didn’t get it. Marinette was amazing! If anyone could get the school’s approval and recoordinate things, she could. He would admire their faith in her. He really would. Except that it came with this unrealistic expectation that their ‘Everyday Ladybug’ should somehow magically fix everything without realizing just what ‘everything’ entailed.

Which meant she would have to locate a new venue and catering. Which would require more money. Money they no longer had because it had been used already to set everything up before this sudden demand to reschedule. Which any sensible person would see is a complete waste of everything they already had.

Oh, but that’s okay! They could do a fundraiser, they reasoned. And of course by “they”, they meant “Marinette”, because they were all busy with other things they actually wanted to do. Ignoring that she would have to get permission from the school to set up a fundraiser and explain what it was for on top of try to explain WHY she wanted to suddenly uproot the carefully planned dance event they already had set.

And of course to add to the insanity of the matter, they decided the fundraiser should be a bake sale. Which of course would also fall to Marinette to not only manage but provide all of the goods for. Even better that since she’s the daughter of bakers, surely she could get the pastries for free! Ignoring, of course, that this meant her family would be working at a loss for the ingredients used and the time it took to make them. To suggest they shouldn’t even be paid for the task? As though it were somehow obligatory? Felix could tell Marinette was getting frustrated. He couldn’t blame her, as the sheer selfishness and lack of consideration was mind-boggling.

When Marinette tried to object, the class took offense that she wouldn’t do this ‘little favor’ for them. All while ignoring, of course, that none of it can be considered by any means ‘little’. From making the arrangements with the school, to locating and contracting the venue, to purchasing and making the decorations, to catering, to just everything else. Oh, and of course since Marinette was an up and coming fashion designer, she wouldn’t mind making a dress for Rossi as well.

_“Oh Marinette. You wouldn’t mind, would you? I know we don’t always get along, but I know you’re the best when it comes to fashion!” She seemed to wilt on herself at that. “Oh, but you must be so busy, and we aren’t really friends. It would be so selfish of me to ask…”_

And of course everyone fell for it hook, line, and sinker as they reassured Lila on Marinette’s behalf without even seeing if she was okay with it, then started to push Marinette to do THAT on top of everything else.

He was proud of her for trying to stand her ground, but he knew it would be a lost cause as soon as Cesaire pulled her away to talk to her ‘privately’. Read: make Marinette feel guilty and push her into taking on more of a burden than she really should have to. Out of concern, he had passed by where they were talking and overheard some of the less than friendly whispers from Cesaire about Marinette needing to try to be a friend, make peace with Rossi, and not let her jealousy over Adrien get the better of her before Marinette finally had enough and walked away.

Felix couldn’t blame her. And the look on Cesaire’s face would have been particularly amusing if he weren’t feeling so irate himself on Marinette’s behalf.

They were teenagers. Selfish. Egotistical. He could understand that to an extent. But the problem here was that Marinette already had enough to worry about. And her classmates seemed to fail to realize that she had a life and things to focus on that weren’t Agreste or Rossi. She had other projects, other goals, other aspirations and tasks that didn’t involve any of them. And none of them had even tried to ask if she was okay before volunteering her, only to turn around and act as though SHE was the one being unreasonable if she spoke against it.

That’s what happened when you were nice, he reasoned. It’s not even out of any maliciousness from others that they want more, just expectation because she had always given in to them in the past. And if she couldn’t, they took it to be simple unwillingness on her part, a selfish choice to refuse rather than circumstances or her being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of what’s being asked of her.

He had hoped that after everything, Marinette would have refused to cater to their whims or change anything. He was sure that Bustier, Damocles, and even the rest of the school that already knew about the date set would be willing to back her on that.

He was still hoping now, even as she stood before him the next morning, biting her lip in uncertainty. She stared at him intently. He wasn’t sure why. It almost looked as though she wanted to ask him for something.

“If you need something from me, you know you can ask.” He told her gently, trying to be supportive. As much as he wasn’t the ‘touch-feely’ kind of person, he had a talent for reading people.

And Marinette really looked like she could use someone to talk to. Likely also a hug.

She looked away.

“I think…I’m gonna go see Luka before school.”

He nodded, not at all offended as she turned away. If it helped her to feel better, it didn’t matter who she talked to—just as long as she spoke with someone about it. And Couffaine had a gift for empathy.

So Felix was appeased that she was at least getting some help and proceeded on his way.

The second indicator that something was off was when he reached the school. He was heading down the hallway from the Library when he encountered Marinette again. But this time, she was dressed quite differently, with a jacket that appeared almost like a suit and her hair pulled up into a bun. As he approached, he noticed she was putting up posters.

He looked over the stack she had set aside and found to his vexation that they were for a bake sale.

“Marinette, you know you don’t have to go through with this.”

“Of course I do. How else will people know about the fundraiser?” She replied, somewhat distracted and not looking away from the poster she was trying to align perfectly.

“You shouldn’t even be doing the bake sale! Or rescheduling the dance! If Rossi can’t make it, it’s really for the best.”

She hmmed to herself and flattened the poster against the wall.

He slammed his own hand over the poster in frustration, forcing her to look at him.

“You crinkled it.” She chastized him.

He really didn’t care. “You don’t owe them anything, especially after how they spoke to you yesterday.”

“I’m the Class Representative. I have to do what the class wants.”

“No, you don’t.” He insisted. “You’re allowed to delegate tasks. If they want to do this so badly, they should be helping out. If they don’t want to contribute to this, then is clearly isn’t that important.”

There was a pause as her eyes met his and he hoped—really hoped that he had gotten through to her.

She looked away from him and back to the poster.

“I need to focus.”

There was nothing he could do for it right now, he realized. That certainly didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try talking to the school administration in hopes they would put their foot down on the matter. At least that way no one could say Marinette didn’t try.

“I hope to see you in class.” He stated as he walked past her, too quick and too angry to fully make out her muttered reply.

~~“…you’ll see _a_ me there.”~~

It was when he entered the classroom to find Césaire in an argument that it finally clicked—and he could kick himself for not realizing sooner.

Agreste was uselessly trying to stop the conflict while Césaire looked about ready to blow her top—nothing new there with either of them. But the one she appeared ready to go off on was Marinette. A yet again differently-dressed Marinette who was wearing a hoodie and bearing a disposition that would be more at home on his face than her own.

“Césaire! Agreste!” He snapped, making the two in question jump. “Get away from there. Right now.”

The reporter glared down at him, working herself up into a rant. “Oh, of course YOU would—“

_“Césaire.”_ He growled through gritted teeth. _“Step away from the akuma.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crossover with imthepunchlord’s Manynette, now featuring Saltinette.


	10. Enemies to Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Presented for your consideration: Demon Felix AU.

* * *

Felix was not a nice person. Or even a good person. Or even a person at all.

It kind of came with being a demon. And Felix WAS one of the best, thank you very much. It was part of the reason why he was one of the demons at the top of the list to contract with. Felix did his job and he did it quite well, giving people what they wanted and reaping their souls afterwards.

Over the centuries, he had played all sorts of roles to cater to the whims and deepest desires of whomever was foolish or desperate enough to call upon him. Whether servant, guard, or subordinate, he played whatever part they wanted of him and he played it well—often so well that the fools would mistakenly think he was truly their ally when their end eventually came and he finally took his payment.

He wouldn’t say he relished in their cries of dismay or betrayal.

He just thought it was amusing.

Felix was a **DEMON**. He had a job. He did the job. And he took great pride in it. Even if business had been slow over the centuries.

Early on, things were…well, not easy, but certainly plentiful. People would call upon him for the standard three wishes, generally wanting power, wealth, or revenge—he rather liked that last one, he was at least able to get creative with it. But with the increasing antics of the various religions and the whole atheism belief gaining traction, not many people actually subscribed to the old ways of demon summoning to get their heart’s desire.

So when he had been summoned for the first time after a good few decades, he was actually somewhat impressed.

Then he met his would be contractor, and he was decidedly LESS impressed.

Lila Rossi.

A preteen at this point. She had all the makings of a future serial black widow. Sociable. Perceptive. Manipulative. And a complete lack of empathy or concern for others. Even early on, she had a way of drawing people to her like moths to a flame that was only all too happy to set them alight. It would have been interesting to see, if anything.

But she was lazy. And impatient.

So she summoned him to make things easier for her.

He’d give her credit that she at least knew what she was doing. When she made her wishes, she made sure to word them in such a way so as to get exactly what she wanted. Not that he would have twisted her wishes the way she feared. He had pride in his work after all. Not to mention his reputation. After all, word spread easily and no one was going to call on an entity for anything if he was known for screwing them out of it.

No. Felix gave them exactly what they wanted. How things worked out from there was entirely on them.

He just sat back and watched the fallout.

“Mistress Rossi”, as she preferred he call her, thought she was so smart. She had her wishes already written out long before she’d even gone about summoning him. She worded them precisely to make sure what she wanted would be exactly what she got, and even more than he technically should have given per wish.

Two wishes in and she already had it all. Youth and beauty. Charm and charisma. An automatic positive perception in the eyes of others. The ability to lie and fool and manipulate without anyone doubting her.

By the end of it, she was able to keep people almost enthralled by her, obeying her every whim and taking her every word without question. She could have told anyone anything she wanted and they would believe her.

Honestly, it took the fun out of things. What was the point if she didn’t even have to work for it?

Well, Rossi liked it well enough, so that was what she got. And the only stipulation was that the illusion wouldn’t hold on anyone who knew with absolute certainty that what she was saying couldn’t be true.

Like, say… **lying about being Ladybug’s best friend in a way she could easily be discovered by the girl who just happened to be the civilian identity of the superhero in question.**

If he cared or felt even the least bit of sympathy for her, Felix would have laughed aloud at her idiocy. First off, that she would openly lie about knowing a superhero in the ONE place the superhero would likely hear about it. And two, that she wouldn’t catch on that the one girl who DIDN’T fall for any of her lies could only be said superhero.

It was some amusement, at least. Not that he was going to tell her.

He never told any of his past contractors when they were being foolish, after all.

He just watched with hidden amusement as Rossi first hid away in her home for months on end wasting her days complaining about Ladybug and then after her return to the school would waste her days complaining about the hero’s civilian self. Letting her spite and hatred of both fester and grow to the point she was nearly inclined to turn to Felix to “deal” with them. After all, her enemies were technically his enemies as well for as long as his contract lasted.

She instead took to trying to ruin the two girls/one girl with two masks on her own. Telling lies to exaggerate her importance to others. Playing the innocent victim in any circumstance. Slowly trying to poison the girl’s friends against her. Helping a known terrorist to try to murder a superhero and take over the city.

And for the most part, it was working. With the powers her wishes had gotten her, every plot she made seemed to work out in her favor. Her enemy was struggling but only just managing to hold on while Rossi was living the high life.

But with two wishes in and only one to go, Rossi suddenly realized just how precarious her situation was. When she thought he wasn’t present—how stupid, of course he was always there—she spent her time trying to find some means to somehow weasel her way out of the deal.

He didn’t try to stop her. She hadn’t been the first to suddenly try to back out of the contract once it was made and two of the wishes granted. There was little about Rossi that showed she would turn out any differently.

And really, it was his power. His rules. He was the one to decide what was acceptable and how to apply his own magic with each wish.

So finally, the day came after a particularly frustrating clash with the civilian side of her “enemy” (which he didn’t fully understand the point of continuing to call her as such, given how many times Ladybug had rescued her by this point and it would be more useful to be in her good graces). Rossi was more frustrated than usual and barely caught herself from saying the words to make her third wish and end the contract.

A pity, but he’d known it wouldn’t be that easy.

_Except then it was._ Because her own almost-wish gave Rossi a particularly interesting idea.

It was likely his own fault. He had let her push the limits of her wishes before. Clearly she had the mistaken belief that SHE was the one to decide how the wishes worked.

And so, she thought she could make THIS work, too.

She spun on her heel and turned to him in a grand flourish.

“Felix!”

He didn’t roll his eyes, as much as he wanted to at the display. Rossi still thought him docile and obedient to her. He doubted she even considered if she was seeing his true personality. Or if he even had a personality.

“Yes, Mistress Rossi?” He asked, dutifully.

“I have my third wish!” She said with glee, making an extravagant and unnecessary announcement out of it.

“Of course, Mistress Rossi.” He said with a small bow.

“I wish for you to transfer my contract to Marinette Dupain-Cheng and take her soul instead of my own.”

It was probably the first bit of surprise he’d shown her since she summoned him. Likely even the first he’d physically shown in over a century.

This girl—this arrogant self-centered witch of a girl was literally trying to lay a claim to another person’s soul and trade it for her own. Sacrifice another person’s life and soul in a contract SHE made with a demon SHE summoned—one she had to have bet her soul on in the first place to even accomplish. Trying to save herself by arguably stealing the soul of an innocent person—not just an innocent, but a hero…by all counts a saint even.

And of all things, _the little brat actually thought she could get away with it!_

He could have laughed.

He wanted to laugh.

But Felix…

Felix merely bowed at her request.

“Very well, Miss Rossi.”

And promptly vanished from her sight, leaving a smirking and all too satisfied Rossi alone in her room.

In all honesty, he should have ended things there. Considered the contract complete based on the prior wishes. Or at least just told Rossi he couldn’t fulfill those terms.

Technically, it shouldn’t have been allowed.

Technically, it had only never been done before.

But Rossi did it, fully thinking it would save her own skin and remove an enemy. Two birds with one stone.

And she was so very lazy, after all.

So he let her think that and went along with her little attempt to pass the buck onto someone else. More out of amusement than anything. She had to be a fool to think she could really trade another person’s soul so easily!

Of course, Felix could find a way to make this work in his favor. After all, every person who made a contract got three wishes before the contract was closed and the soul was forfeit. And one Miss Ladybug ne Dupain-Cheng had a very vehement attitude towards now Miss Rossi.

She _despised_ the liar. Likely as much as Rossi despised her, albeit with more justifiable reasoning. It would be simple enough to have her wish some misfortune on Rossi and then he would have her anyway.

And besides, how could he say no when offered a free opportunity to add to his collection? Dupain-Cheng’s soul was a rarity, one he could sense regardless of the distance. What other chance would he have to get one like that?

He should thank Miss Rossi. By the end of all this, he would have two souls for the effort of one.

Yes, he thought with a feral grin. This would be all too easy.

**Needless to say, it turned out to not be that easy at all…**


	11. Villain Felix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Enemies to Lovers and part of the Demon Felix AU.
> 
> Demon Felix meets Marinette after Lila tries to trade Marinette's soul for her own.
> 
> No one is happy about this.

* * *

Given how old he was, it stood to reason that Felix had a couple of encounters with the Kwamis and Miraculous in the past. Usually those encounters involved him butting heads with the godlings as the sort of person who would summon him would also be the sort to require a Miraculous or two to deal with. But only once had he ever met the one known as Tikki, and that was more than enough to sear the meeting into his memory.

Honestly, he had expected the Creation Kwami to remember him. He would have been surprised if she hadn’t. Joan was a favorite of hers, after all, and he had been involved in her rather unfortunate fate.

As it was, he was more surprised at the chittering noise she made at his appearance, full of rage and as if she were about to attack at the very sight of him.

How rude. He hadn’t even done anything this time.

_Yet._

“YOU!”

“Hello to you, too.” He said with an all too pleasant smile. “It’s nice to see you again. How have you been?”

Tikki let out an infuriated shriek that forced her mortal chosen to cover her ears but did very little to Felix himself. He merely looked down at her in distaste.

“Now that language is rather uncalled for.”

“What are you even _doing_ here?” Tikki demanded.

The girl—Marinette Dupain-Cheng lowered her hands and looked back and forth between the two of them, all the more confused.

“So…I take it that you two know each other?”

“Obviously.” He replied with dry amusement. “But that hardly matters now.”

“I think it does.” She countered—smart girl. He could already tell this would be a fun one. “Who are you?”

Ignoring the kwami’s glare and attempt to get in his way, he merely brushed past the little being until he was standing face to face with his new Contractor.

She was cute, he supposed. For human terms at least. She wore her hair in pigtails—a sign of immaturity. She seemed to draw back from him—clearly fear and uncertainty. She was in a constant state of anxiety and her aura was as limited as her self-confidence.

She was _perfect_.

He bowed with a flourish, appearing every part the picture of servitude and obedience.

“I am merely your humble servant, dear Mistress.”

“Eh?” Marinette flushed at that.

“NO! No, no, no!” The annoying kwami shouted, forcing her way between them. “You are not doing this! Not her!”

He smiled with false kindness. “Oh, but it’s already done. She and I have a contract to complete. I am merely here to fulfill my role.”

“No, it isn’t!” Tikki insisted. “She never summoned you or agreed to any deals! You have no claim on her!”

“Tikki, what’s going on? What is he talking about?” Marinette asked, increasingly worried at the state of her kwami.

“Don’t trust him, Marinette!” She exclaimed. “He’s here to try and make a claim on your soul!”

Marinette stiffened at that, her gaze jumping to Felix. “Is that true?”

He continued to smile. “Mostly. The only wrong point is that there is no ‘try’. Your soul has already been offered to me. I am simply upholding my end of the bargain.”

Both girl and kwami gasped in horror.

“But _how?!_ ” Tikki rounded on Marinette, not in anger but in worry as she looked the girl over for any sign of a contract. “Marinette, did you contract with him?”

She shook her head fervently in response. “No! I didn’t even know that was a thing!”

The kwami continued to mutter fearfully as she checked her chosen. Marinette was too stunned to move or try to stop her, her gaze not straying from Felix.

“What…what are you?”

He smirked.

“I’m a demon.”

Her eyes narrowed. At first he thought it was out of anger, but as she began to speak, he realized it was contemplation.

“I never made a deal with you. Or any demon.” She looked down to her clearly upset friend who had been just investigating her body. He could see her mind in motion, putting the pieces together and drawing conclusions.

“You didn’t, no. That original summoner would be a girl by the name of Lila Rossi.”

A pause.

“I take it you’ve heard of her.” He stated.

It went without saying, really. The way both girl and kwami tensed and the sheer anger they both displayed were indicative enough of that, even if he didn’t already know of their conflict with his former “Mistress” from his own observations of her or her final wish specifically targeting this girl.

But still…better to lead her in the direction he wants her to start looking. All the easier to build on that resentment and have her act on it.

“Lila! I should have known!” Marinette hissed, fists clenched and looking to the side. But then she immediately paused, considering. “Wait…”

Tikki floated up to her face, concerned. “Marinette?”

“Lila summoned you. Lila contracted with you. That means…Lila had to have made a wish from you.” Marinette reasoned.

Interesting. She was rather quick to put the clues together.

He nodded. “Three, in fact. Standard contract. Three wishes. No misfortune countertransference or any of those loopholes or ‘Monkey’s Paw’ drawbacks. I give people exactly what they want.”

Marinette nodded at that as she thought it out in her head.

“Is it possible…did Lila use her wishes to make everyone just trust her so easily?”

Felix didn’t dare grin. He merely nodded again, maintaining the picture of subservience. “Good fortune. Charm and charisma. Beguiling of the mind. The trust and adoration of those who meet her. Invoking immediate belief in her words. The inability of her listeners to question her unless she makes a claim they know with absolute certainty cannot be true.”

He let that slip out. It was all the better to confirm his new Contractor’s suspicions. Both to build her hatred of his former “Mistress” and to give her all the more justification to act in the belief she would be protecting others from Rossi’s continued manipulations if it’s clear they will be unable to realize it on their own.

“And as her last wish, she bequeathed her contract onto you so that your soul would be taken in place of her own.”

THAT got their attention.

“WHAT?!”

Ah, sweet music. Indignation, fear, righteous fury, injustice. A rather potent combination.

And he barely even had to do more than pluck a few strings to get it going.

But those few strings were perfectly times and expertly played as he divulged in full detail the tragic news of Marinette’s fate thanks to the schemes of a liar. He told them how Lila had gone well out of her way to learn about him and to summon him—the materials to conduct a demon summoning are hardly simple, after all. He spoke of the wretched girl’s history, of all the pain she had caused even before gaining any wishes from him and how much worse she became after. And he delightfully told them of how Lila, in an attempt to save her own life after having ruined so many others had seen fit to continue rather than repent—and went so far as to target the one person seemingly unaffected by her Charm. If allowed to continue, surely she would never stop. And she would certainly not make the same mistake as to allow anyone else to find the loophole Marinette had unwittingly stumbled into.

Through it all, Tikki merely glared at him, but Marinette…she was observing him just as much as he had been observing her. Considering. Contemplating.

It was all too perfect.

He already knew how this would end.

She was a thinker, this girl. Logic may not have been her strong suit, but she could certainly plan and reason.

He had dealt with people like her in the past. People who tried to rationalize their way out of bad situations while failing to see the traps. He had seen it before. This was nothing new.

She had a little understanding of how his power worked. Limited knowledge of the tools at her disposal. She was an outsider thrown into a game she did not know how to play. But she was smart—oh yes, she was certainly smart enough to come to the obvious conclusion.

It was clear how this would end. She would realize it soon enough.

The easy answer was to get vengeance against the one who sought to sacrifice her.

The logical answer was to make a wish to try and rebound the contract back on Lila.

The simple answer was that if Lila could wish her payment on another, then certainly it could be wished back on her.

The obvious solution was for the would-be victim to wish it.

“No.”

He startled.

“What?”

Yet it was the one thing she refused to do.

“No?” He asked in genuine surprise. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“Exactly that. No. I’m not going to wish anything to happen to Lila.” She insisted stubbornly. “In fact, I’m not going to wish for anything! I refuse!”

Tikki beamed with pride.

This was…not what he was expecting.

“You can’t refuse. No one has ever refused!“

If Felix was inclined to care about appearances, he probably looked more harried than he ever allowed himself to seem before. At this moment, however, he was more concerned with this sudden deviation from his plans.

Uncaring of any such plans, the girl merely crossed her arms with a huff. “Yeah, but they all summoned you specifically to get things in the first place. I’m not like them! I never asked for your help.“

“No, you didn’t.” He mused. “But you never ask for anything, do you?”

He walked around her in a circle. She turned with him, and never once allowed him out of her sight.

Smart girl.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if for once someone tried to help you without you having to ask? Without you having to jump through hoops and break your back to somehow ‘earn’ their loyalty first? Loyalty they long since should have afforded you as a friend if not all the good you’ve already done for them?”

“Don’t act like you’re trying to help me.” She snapped at him. “You’re certainly not doing this for free.”

“No.” He admitted. “But I’m not requiring anything of you either.”

“Just my soul.”

“Your soul is already mine.” He explained, logically. “You have Rossi to thank for that. This is merely you taking payback. Or at least making the exchange worth it.”

She glared at him fiercely. Something in her eyes sent a thrill down his spine even as his hands ached to take that fire and snuff it.

She huffed angrily. “Why would I go and do a thing like that?”

That was obvious.

“Because it’s in your nature.”

“That’s not—”

“Don’t kid yourself. Of course it is! It’s why your city is currently under siege. It’s why your friends are letting themselves be played for fools. It’s why I’ve been sent to you in the first place. Because everyone wants something. Even the majority of your most reviled sins are centered around the general concept.”

She frowned in confusion. “What?”

“Those cardinal vices—the seven deadly sins. Well, seven after the Catholic Church got ahold of the list, at any rate.”

Marinette looked rather unimpressed.

Felix was disinclined to care, and chose to continue.

“Greed. Lust. Gluttony. Each in some way is about the idea of wanting more than one has or should have. Whether it’s food, riches, or bodily pleasure. Even envy is about wanting what others have. Pride is in a sense feeling you are more deserving than others of the things you want. As for wrath…well, how often do people turn to destruction when they can’t get what they want? And in turn, the cardinal virtues that oppose the sins are all about restraint and holding oneself back from that which they want…and is it really no wonder why people keep giving in to the temptation if the demand that people should deny themselves the best they have to offer. Honestly, I barely have to try and convince anyone before they jump right into Faustian bargains.”

“You sound so sure of yourself!” Tikki hissed.

“Because I am.” Felix replied with a smirk. “I’ve yet to have a contract I never collected on. This will be no different.”

Marinette glared at him. “And what makes you so sure I’ll give in?”

“Because you’re human.” He replied simply. “If there is one thing humans excel at, it’s _wanting_. It’s the constant desire. The yearning for things they cannot or should not have, even to their own detriment. So many people every day waste their lives away wishing…dreaming… _wanting_.”

He caught her chin with his fingers, forcing her to meet his eyes.

“And you, my dear, are particularly brim with desires.”

“What would you know of my desires?”

He smirked. “How could I not know? You wear your desires so openly that it would be impossible to ignore them.”

Her eyes widened—likely fear and maybe embarrassment as he started to list them.

“The heart of a boy with no reason to even look at you.”

“To become renown for your designs and artistry.”

“A family life. A loving husband and…” He grinned. “ _Children_.”

She gasped and drew back.

He barely held back the laugh, limiting it to a mere chuckle at the inanity of it all.

“Two boys. And a girl.” He leaned forward, whispering their names like a prayer. “ _Hugo. Louis. Ema._ ”

She gasped. Like it was a surprise. As though those names weren’t etched into her very heart, big and bright and so easily for anyone to read.

The girl was an open book.

“Such a loss…wouldn’t it be a shame?”

“You don’t touch them!” She snapped at him.

He didn’t even bother to hide the laugh this time.

“Touch them? Princess, they don’t exist! Those ‘children’ are mere illusions conjured by your imagination! They are figments of your desire. Nothing more than a dream. And the way you’re going, that’s all they’ll ever be.”

She practically wilted at that. He watched her spirit falter and fall like a dying flame.

It was over.

Tikki’s hissing didn’t even seem to penetrate the girl’s mind as she stared at him, looking oh so perfectly lost.

“You help others to no end and with nothing to show for it. You lose time and again to liars and bullies who abuse their power and authority to harm you and those you care about. You give of yourself until there is nothing left for the sake of a boy who would have every reason to love you if he weren’t so blind. And for all your attempts, it only leads to demands for more. From yourself. From your friends. From the world.”

He reached out a hand to touch her cheek in a gentle caress.

“You could have anything—simply ask for anything to at least make things a little better. Not even just for yourself, but for everyone. You could wish Hawk Moth to die and his Miraculous in your hands. You could wish Adrien to finally see how much you love him. And you know your friends are little more than tools to Rossi at this point. If you really want to save them from her, you could just ask and that little problem will simply go away. No blood. No mess. No guilt on your shoulders. You could erase her from existence entirely so you never even remember her.”

She looked up at him, almost shyly as she listened despite Tikki’s warnings. He knew he as good as had her.

“So many things. So many ways to make your life better in the here and now.”

He smiled gently now. Play the part of the rescuer. Calming her and reassuring her that it was okay.

“All you have to do is ask, Princ—.”

He was cut off by the sensation of something very cold and very wet hitting his face.

Sputtering, he wiped his eyes and found Marinette giving him an altogether unimpressed stare with what appeared to be a mister in hand.

He was…pretty sure he hadn’t seen her holding that just a minute ago.

“Did…did you just squirt me?” He asked, completely bewildered. He’d been stabbed, burned, hung, and even cut in half on one occasion. But no one just…SPRAYED him with water before like he was an unruly housecat.

Tikki laughed, joyously as Marinette looked down on him figuratively and literally.

“Yes. And there’s more of that, mister.” Marinette threatened, shaking the bottle and making it evident from the sloshing within that there was still plenty of water left.

“You can’t just do that!” He exclaimed, incredulous. It was silly, of course, because she clearly just had. But it was the principle of the matter!

“And you can’t just buy my soul from someone else! Especially not someone who has no claim to it!” Marinette countered.

“It was her wish.” He insisted.

“And it’s your contract. Surely there would have to be some stipulations about either party requesting or promising something they can’t deliver.”

…

She took his silence as an answer and smirked.

“Now let me make this perfectly clear.” She told him in a ‘no nonsense’ tone. “I don’t want you here. I never agreed to any contract or to any of the terms of your contract with Lila. I don’t want your power or any ‘help’ from you. I’m not going to make ANY wishes to you. In fact,” She straightened, growing…alarmingly more confident than he expected from the anxious girl with poor self confidence she initially presented herself to be. “I’m going to find some way to save myself AND Lila from you.”

Wait— ** _what?_**

“You can’t do that!”

She couldn’t do that, right?

_Why_ would she even do that? Her own soul, he could understand, but why Rossi?

Marinette merely glared with all the fury of a very frustrated and unhappy teenager who happened to moonlight as a superhero with all the powers of creation at her disposal.

It…turned out to be more intimidating than expected…

“Watch me.”

And with that, she turned away and stomped to her desk where she promptly began working and doing her utmost to pretend he wasn’t there.

He frowned at her back.

“You are already doomed. Why not enjoy what you can?”

She would not be cowed.

“I couldn’t expect you to understand.”

Ah. A “human” thing. How droll. And as pathetic a comeback as any could be.

But she said nothing further, and took to ignoring him from then out. Tikki smirked at him from her side as she kept watch over them both—her to protect and him to be protected from.

He glowered at the two from the corner, considering his next move.

It seemed Marinette Dupain-Cheng would not be so easily played.

That was fine. Really. It was a minor setback, nothing more.

After all, she was only human. As was Rossi. As was every Contractor before.

She would falter in this newfound determination sooner or later.

_He could be patient._


	12. Personality Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another akuma attack. This one wants people to experience life from other people's perspectives. But it's not like anything too terrible could come of that, right?
> 
> .....right?

* * *

It was a beautiful day at Franciose Dupont.

At least until Marinette found a phone being shoved in her face by an overly excited Alya as Nino and Adrien followed just behind her.

“Girl! Check it out!”

She sighed. “What now?”

Alya beamed, ignoring Marinette’s less than enthusiastic interest. “I’ve got a new interview with Lila after Ladybug rescued her from an akuma earlier!”

“And that is supposed to actually impress anyone?” Marinette asked, almost sounding bored. “Pretty much everyone has been saved by Ladybug at least once at this point.”

That put a bit of a damper on the conversation as the other three lost a bit of their enthusiasm at that. Adrien’s smile faded slightly, noting the less than supportive response from their “Everyday Ladybug”.

“But you know how much Lila has done, and she IS Ladybug’s bestie. The viewers will love it!”

“Did you even talk to Ladybug about any of this before running this information? Make sure it was true or in any way accurate?”

Adrien frowned, a bit put off by her tone. He knew Lila was still pulling her regular antics, but Marinette didn’t have to be so snippy. The tone was completely unlike her, for all that it sounded familiar.

“Girl, you know I take my journalism very seriously! I always make sure to get the story straight!” Alya replied, passing the other girl’s comment off as a joke.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at that. “Like the time you thought Chloe was Ladybug even though we all clearly saw the two of them together during the Stoneheart and Bubbler incidents?”

The boys blinked in surprise. Of course it couldn’t have been meant the way it sounded because this was Marinette saying it, but it still sounded pretty harsh.

“This is different!” Alya insisted, clearly annoyed by the jabs but trying to ignore them as unintentional slights and remain civil.

“What, you mean you’re actually going to fact check this time?” Marinette asked, incredulously.

Yeah, there was no mistaking it that time. That comment definitely held some bite to it.

Nino gaped in horror because this…this was not Marinette. The Marinette he knew was never this… _mean!_

Alya looked like she was two seconds away from blowing up at the other girl.

Adrien stared at Marinette in shock before his expression turned to one of hurt. “Marinette, that’s uncalled for.”

And Marinette simply gave him a flat stare in response. “My apologies, I’ve forgotten that according to you, apparently I’m supposed to stand by and stay quiet when I know someone is doing something wrong because clearly not letting them feel bad about doing bad things is supposed to be the bigger concern over having them simply not do bad things. I wish I could say I actually care, but not all of us get to ride on the High Horse Express, Agreste.”

“I never said—”

“Nevermind that if you had told Nino at the very least about Lila’s blatant and obvious lies from the start, he wouldn’t have pressured you on her behalf and the whole mess with you being forced to take her to your house, her manipulating your father’s staff, and Kagami getting akumatized wouldn’t have happened. Not that any of that has actually gotten you to speak up about her yet, but I guess that just goes to show how you care less about protecting the people who are actually good vs the ones who you want to believe might eventually be good no matter how much they clearly show they don’t.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean—"

“Just go back to your corner and ignore things like you always do. The people who are actually willing to solve problems are talking.”

Alya and Nino gaped in shock, completely uncertain how to take any of this. Lila lied—well, they knew Marinette had been saying as such but that was yet to be confirmed. But that Adrien knew and kept quiet? All of that and any other questions, however, paled in comparison to seeing Marinette of all people blatantly telling off Adrien in such a way. ADRIEN AGRESTE. She hadn’t even managed a full conversation with him before where she didn’t stumble over her words, but this?

Seeing the group’s collective expressions, Marinette rolled her eyes. “By which I mean ‘me’, because of course I’m the only one who ever actually has to do anything around here. Or rather ‘everything’.”

They couldn’t stop staring. Because…was this Marinette? Marinette Dupain-Cheng does not say such things. Or act this way.

But she was, as the girl in question remained completely unconcerned, looking to her watch and ignoring their shocked expressions. “Speaking of which, I have to get to the classroom to help plan more projects that you people won’t appreciate just so you can keep badgering me about how I never do enough for you.“

She didn’t even give them a chance to respond before turning on her heel and walking away. Well, walking towards the school and away from them, leaving the three in the metaphorical dust and just gaping at her in confusion and abject horror.

“What. The hell. Was that?” Nino asked, too shocked to fully rationalize what had just happened.

“Maybe…maybe she’s just upset about something else and she’s lashing out?” Adrien suggested weakly. He glanced after her in worry. “Maybe we should talk with her?”

“Oh, I’ll talk to her all right! I am going to give that girl a piece of my mind!” Alya was practically seething as she started to storm towards the school to catch up to her ‘friend’ and have a few good words for her.

It was perhaps fortunate for everyone that someone bumped into her first, drawing her attention and distracting her from her ire.

Except the one who bumped into her was Felix, who was generally a regular source of ire as well as spite.

“I’m so sorry!” He blurted immediately, looking strained.

…Except this time, apparently.

Alya stared.

“What?”

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He asked, worriedly as he looked her up and down in an attempt to see if there were any injuries.

She continued to stare.

“What?”

“I am sorry,” Felix repeated. “I didn’t mean to bump into you. Are you alright?”

“…What?”

Felix frowned at her before turning to the other two boys, eyes wide in worry. “She’s not responding! I think she may have a concussion.” He gripped his head and started growing more frantic. “Now she’s going to have to be hospitalized and may get amnesia and never be able to update the Ladyblog and all of her fans will be furious and try to hunt me down so I’ll have to live in a bunker and survive off canned food _for the rest of my life!_ ” The…unusual-behaving Felix groaned, finishing his…rather excessive and dramatic rant by covering his eyes with his hands.

Alya…continued to stare.

The boys, unfortunately, were just as shocked as she was and thus were no help to explaining Felix’s strange yet somehow familiar behavior.

The taller blond forced himself to stop and take a breath. “I can’t do this. I don’t understand how she lives like this! If it’s not worrying about hurting someone’s feelings, it’s freaking over how even the slightest mistake can snowball into an unspeakable tragedy.”

Adrien blinked. “Wait—what?”

Felix sighed before turning to face the three. “Where is Marinette?”

Nino finally regained enough composure to speak. “She uh…went inside. She said some…things, and then just had enough and walked off.” Not even stormed off—that would have required some sort of feeling. No, she just coolly glided away with all the confidence and elegance of a figure skater.

Felix groaned at that, realizing exactly what Nino meant. “I am so sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault.” Adrien said, trying to reassure him albeit uncertain in doing so since this WAS Felix he was talking to. A very out of character-acting Felix, but Felix nonetheless. He was half expecting a snarky remark of some sort at any point. Not that it would have phased him given the verbal thrashing Marinette of all people had just given moments before.

“It kind of is.” The other blond replied. “She can’t help it. She doesn’t have my restraint.”

The three blinked at him.

“What?”

“Look,” Felix said with a sigh. “There’s an akuma running around that apparently switches characteristics between its victims and it did…THIS to us.” He explained, gesturing to himself and his current unravelling state like that actually explained anything. “Next thing I knew, Marinette left and I was distracted by…everything.”

“Like…?” Alya prodded.

“I’ve lost count.” He deadpanned. Because honestly, if it wasn’t a crying child, it would be a cat caught in a tree. If there wasn’t some elderly man crossing the street, there would be someone carrying a package that’s too heavy for them. The fact that he made it back to the school at all was a miracle.

And if this was what it was like for him, he couldn’t stop the growing fear of what Marinette had become. Because it wasn’t as easy as simply saying Felix’s negative attitude and Marinette’s positive personality were switched. No, that would be inaccurate.

Felix was a dour person, full of bitterness and spite for those who earned his ire—which was admittedly all too easy to accomplish. But he had at least some ability—or rather had learned long before now how to and what to hold back. At least in this way, he was simply seen as having a somewhat cynical personality, and would be avoided rather than targeted. He had his opinions and enough confidence to let people know what he thought regardless of whose feelings he may hurt in the process.

Marinette, on the other hand, was a generally kind person. She was always one to try to help others. But something common overlooked was her anxiety, which often led to her making mistakes just as much as it pushed her to correct them—even when they weren’t hers. She contrasted with Felix in that she cared too much about other people’s feelings. She was often putting others before herself. It was one of the reasons she was so well liked.

But with this situation…it was switched. And even worse, neither of them were equipped to handle the other’s personality.

She didn’t have Felix’s restraint, and he lacked her resilience.

And knowing Marinette and everything she’s done and been through, she would likely have a lot to say to people that she would no doubt regret later. Even if these are her feelings, and however much truth there may be, he had little doubt that she would never have wanted to reveal them this way. All those dark, negative, bitter thoughts that she’d always felt but never even acknowledged. Just how much were there?

He winced at the thought. Even if he wasn’t holding Marinette’s anxiety and desire to help, he knew he wouldn’t want this for her.

It would devastate her if she ended up really hurting anyone.

“Just…please don’t hold this against Marinette. She doesn’t mean what she says, she just…” He winced because she kind of did but they didn’t need to know that. “She has a bit too much of ‘me’ in her at the moment.”

“Wait—” Nino cut in. “Are you saying Mari is YOU right now?”

Felix hesitated, but soon nodded. “In a sense, yes.”

The three stared. Because that would explain Marinette’s behavior, but that would also mean that while she had HIS personality, HE also had HERS.

And Felix…poor Felix just looked about ready to drop. 

“I cannot live like this!" He exclaimed, tired and frustrated. "The day hasn’t even started and I’m already exhausted from the anxiety and niceties! I keep getting distracted by wanting to fix things for people or my own thoughts jumping to completely illogical conclusions!”

“That…sounds like Marinette all right.” Nino admitted.

“Don’t worry.” Adrien consoled him. “Ladybug and Chat Noir will fix this in no time!”

Alya just continued to stare.

Then her eye started twitching.

“Nope!”

And she promptly spun on her heel and walked away.

“Wait—Alya! Where are you going?” Adrien yelled.

“A salty Marinette was bad enough but a NICE Felix?” She exclaimed, only pausing for a moment to respond. “Nope! I’m done. I have reached my limit—AND I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I HAD ONE!” She shook her head and kept going. “This is officially too weird for me. I’m going home. Somebody call me when things start making sense again.”

The three boys watched her leave with various levels of bewilderment.

Adrien was the one to step back and turn to the school.

“Okay, we need to find Marinette and get this akuma.”

* * *

By the time Marinette entered the room, Lila was regaling the rest of the class as well as Ms. Bustier with the “amazing story” of how Ladybug rescued her from an akuma earlier that morning (one that didn’t exist). Marinette rolled her eyes and scoffed as Lila made some claim about the akuma injuring her wrist so of course she couldn’t take notes today.

Hearing the scoff, Bustier chose to call her out. “Marinette, did you have something to add?”

Unfortunately, this would turn out to be a very poor choice on her part.

“Yes, Marinette. Is something wrong?” Lila asked, already putting on the beginnings of yet another hurt facade.

“Just anyone who actually bothered to check would know that your story is about as fake as your supposed throat surgery. But that’s far from the first time you’ve lied about something, so I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Bustier gaped in shock at the display. “Marinette! That is highly inappropriate!”

Marinette rolled her eyes at that. “Oh please, what are you going to do? Take Lila outside and give her a talking to about ‘setting a good example’? You know she can only fake it so much, right?”

The teacher blinked in confusion. “Wait—take _Lila_ out?”

“Well you certainly won’t lecture or consequence the student actually causing problems. I mean, you never have, so why would you start now? You’ll just send the student being picked on to the Principal.” Marinette explained with a gesture to Ivan, a reminder of that first terrifying akumatization. “Or you’ll lecture the victim on needing to be a ‘positive example’ for their bully like that’ll actually change anything or help in any way. Or you’ll take the student whose work was vandalized and lecture her about needing to be nice to the girl who ruined three weeks of work and a couple hundred euros worth of materials and equipment. Something I never got so much as an apology for, by the way, but hey—she apologized to you and got you another gift, so all’s well that ends well, right? At least you can use MY gift to remember Chloe.”

“Marinette, what has gotten into you?” Bustier demanded. “This isn’t like you!”

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking before.” The normally… _not like this_ girl said with a roll of her eyes as she turned her back on the older woman.

Everyone stared. No one had ever heard Marinette be that…flippant before.

Bustier frowned, resting a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Marinette, don’t you remember our discussion about the Marinette’s of the world?”

That only seemed to agitate the pigtailed girl more as she pulled her shoulder out from Bustier’s hand. “Well, maybe I don’t WANT to be one of the ‘Marinette’s of the world’. Why would I be when the Marientte’s get blamed and lectured for things that aren’t their fault while the Chloe’s and Lila’s are allowed to do whatever they want without any consequence?”

She spun on her teacher, glaring fiercely. “Or did you not consider that as an outcome amidst your lectures to victims and coddling of bullies? Hell, with that attitude, it’s only a wonder why more of your students don’t act out since they all know that Chloe’s are the only ones you’ll actually bother to go out of your way for!”

Bustier frowned, having enough of this. “I don’t know what has gotten into you. But your attitude is uncalled for and I am going to have to have a discussion with your parents about this.”

“That sounds great!” Marinette replied with a clap of her hands, outright beaming and replying jovially. “Maybe I can pull another Chloe card and tell them all about your favoritism and how you’ve been letting her bully your entire class for the past year? Including stealing from me on at least three separate occasions as well as tormenting and blackmailing her classmates—all of which you knew about and did nothing in response to? I’m sure they’ll LOVE to talk to the Principal about that!”

Ms. Bustier reared back as if struck.

“I—I didn’t—”

“Know?” Marinette finished for her with a smirk. “Who are you trying to fool? You knew Juleka left to use the restroom during the class picture and didn’t bother to hold things off until she returned. You knew Chloe stole my hat design and didn’t so much as talk to either of us about it. You knew Chloe had blackmailed the rest of the class to not run for the Class Rep position but didn’t allow a rerun to give everyone a fair chance at the job. And when it came to YOUR akumatization, it only happened because the akuma was originally targeting ME—because **I** was the one being lectured for what **CHLOE** did. Each and every time, _you did nothing_.”

She snapped her fingers as if remembering something.

“And it’s not just Chloe either. Even now, you never stepped in regarding Lila or her blatantly outrageous claims. Not checking her medical history or even so much as requesting a doctor’s note, but changing the entire class seating without the entire class involved and once again lecturing the one person put out who never got to have a say.” Her eyes narrowed in disgust. “While we’re at it, where even was Lila during those months she was gone? Do you actually know? You were setting up video chats with her so she could talk to us, but did you make any other arrangements? Did you at any point talk to the Principal about it or what you were doing? And what did you actually do to help her keep up with the rest of the class for if and when she returned? Private lessons? Record and email your lessons for her? Livestream your classes? Make arrangements with her family to send her homework?” She tapped her cheek, looking as if she was actually trying to remember.

“No, I don’t think you did.”

The tension in the room was thick. No one even dared to breathe.

The other students stared. They had never seen Marinette this…caustic. Nor had they ever seen Bustier so pale.

But Marinette…she just sneered at her so-called “favorite teacher”.

“What kind of a teacher are you, anyway? You spout fairy tales and romanticized notions of love, but when it comes down to it, you just can’t do it yourself, can you? I guess it is true what they say: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, _**teach**_.”

Bustier gaped at Marinette, open mouthed in shock and hurt as the girl smiled in a way that would be considered sweet if it weren’t for… _everything_ she had just been saying.

“So would you still like me to go to the Principal? Or can I take my seat?”

* * *

“It’s okay.” Felix tried to reassure Ms. Bustier as she remained seated and silent—possibly catatonic—at her desk. “You’re not completely incompetent as a teacher.”

Bustier’s shoulders slumped further.

“I mean—Marinette was mostly right and it has been a long time coming for someone to blow up about it, but I’m sure she didn’t intend to be the one to do so, or be so mean about it.”

Bustier covered her face in her hands.

Felix grimaced and in pure Marinette fashion, his mouth started to open and words started pouring out before he could really think.

“Well—what I mean is, at least it was just Marinette. And she only said it because she was hit by an akuma that switched her personality with mine so she’s not particularly concerned about filtering her words or holding back her feelings, so what she said is actually how she felt and the culmination of everything she’s been feeling and going through up until now…not that you’re completely at fault—though you never helped matters…at all…”

Bustier started to shake.

“But at least she wasn’t violent!” Felix blurted out, desperately trying to help. “Nobody was! Well, I mean—Ivan was at the start of the school year. And Marinette wasn’t violent though she did threaten unholy retribution in a way we’ve never seen from her before. But still, maybe it’s better that the issue came up now rather than when someone does explode and escalate into violence or another akuma attacks or the school really does come under investigation or you lose your job because of it—”

“Felix?” Nino said while pinching his brow in exasperation, fortunately interrupting him before he could continue. “Maybe you should stop talking.”

It wasn’t a question. Or a suggestion.

Bustier lowered her head to her desk without a word and would be remaining there for the foreseeable future.

And there was no class that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should probably be noted that for all that Felix has Marinette’s “nice” personality now, that doesn’t mean he’ll be any good at it.
> 
> In short:
> 
> FELIX IS NO HELP! FELIX IS NO HELP AT ALL!


	13. Contest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is stubborn.
> 
> Felix is plotting.
> 
> And Lila is not going to be happy with this turn of events.

* * *

  
Felix did not get angry. He was a being of logic and poise. He was the master manipulator, the one watching from behind the scenes as the puppets danced and flailed to his hidden strings. Barely a footnote in the course of history but with his hand in everything.

  
He did not get frustrated. Being frustrated would suggest that things were not going as planned. Being frustrated meant he was not in control. And he was always in control.

No. What he got was _annoyed_.

He was _annoyed_ when his new Contractor kept asking questions nobody had considered to ask before and caught on to what his true plan was.

He was _annoyed_ when his new Contractor refused to make any wishes.

He was _annoyed_ when his new Contractor decided she was going to try to help the very person who tried to kill her.

He was _annoyed_ with his new Contractor.

  
Impressed, admittedly. But _annoyed_.

* * *

“There has to be something you want.”

“Well, hello to you, too. Good morning, Mister Demon. Nice of you to drop into my room unannounced at the crack of dawn. Thankfully I’m not changing or anything or that would be downright awkward.”

“Oh please, your physical assets mean nothing to me.”

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to be reassured or insulted here.”

“Then be neither. It really makes no difference to me.”

“And what does then?”

“Your wish, of course.”

“Of course.”

“…And?”

“Shame that’s not happening today.”

“It could. Surely there is something I can give you?”

“Nothing I want from you, thank you very much!”

“Money is fairly common and always useful.”

“Pass.”

“To get through all classes with the best grades?”

“But would I actually learn the material that way? I think I do well enough on my own.”

“Yes, ‘well enough’ says the student who comes to classes late and sleeps through them regularly.”

“Hey!”

“Eternal youth and beauty?”

“Oo, a classic.”

“Is that a yes?”

“No.”

“Chloe to get hit by a car?”

“I’ve been imagining ways for her to get into some sort of ‘accident’ over the years. If I was going to make it happen, I wouldn’t waste a wish on it.”

“Lila to spit up snakes whenever she talks?”

“Tempting, but no.”

“Hawk Moth’s Miraculous?”

“I am a hero specifically to do that on my own. I don’t need you cheating for me.”

“Cheating? Please. You say that like this is some math test instead of a supervillain.”

“A supervillain I already have powers and the means to stop. So no.”

“How about his identity then?”

“Still no.”

“More personal perhaps? What about fame?”

  
“I already have enough trouble with that as Ladybug!”

“But what about as Marinette? You still need to get your name out there if you want to be successful in your dream job.”

“I’ll manage on my own.”

“In what—five? Ten years? Why wait when you could have your own clothing line? A fashion company?”

“I’m still a teenager! I want to get through school before even starting on that!”

“Adrien’s heart?”

“A heart not freely given is not worth having.”

“Oh come on, you don’t really buy the ‘true love’ nonsense, do you? It would be true love as far as he would be concerned.”

“I do NOT want you mind-controlling Adrien into loving me!”

“I don’t even have to control his mind to accomplish it. The right time, the right place, and a few well planed ‘coincidences’ could make him see you in an entirely new light.”

“I am not hearing this!”

“Just a few nudges here and there.”

“But it wouldn’t be genuine.”

“Then why not use a Wish for him? To make his life better?”

That actually made her pause.

“Less photoshoots and more free time. Which equates to more time with his friends and thus more time with you in particular. That would certainly allow you more opportunity to endear yourself to him.”

“I can do that on my own.”

“You’ll just have less chances to do it.”

“Then that’s a sacrifice I’ll have to make.”

“But is it one he would appreciate?”

“…”

“Or you could do the selfless thing and make a Wish for him. To give him something he’s missing. Something he would truly be grateful for.”

“…”

“I could even work it to have him find out it was thanks to you. After so many instances of your gifts to him going unrecognized and unattributed to you, wouldn’t it be nice for him to acknowledge what you do on his behalf for once?”

“And what could you even do that would be so great?”

He hummed to himself, considering.

“I could bring his mother back, if you like. Of course, it wouldn’t be her anymore, but it’s not like Adrien needs to know that.”

“Oh my GOD, no!”

“Or I could kill his father and let him inherit everything.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“He’s an old recluse. It’s easy enough to set him up for a heart attack.”

“FELIX!”

“Nobody would even know any different.”

A book slammed into the wall where his head had just been.

**“GO AWAY, DAMMIT!”**

“Is that a wish?”  
  


The second book flying at his head was enough indicator for Felix to vacate the premises.

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was…admittedly more resilient than he expected. Though he believed the correct term would be “stubborn”.

She was refusing him for the sake of being defiant more than anything. Usually, such opposition would wear itself down after a time.

Usually.

But his new Contractor was far from the norm it seemed. Both in her circumstances in gaining his service as well as her personal morals. She had said she was going to refuse to make any wishes, and so far, she had held to that.

Commendable, if not irritating.

Part of him felt inclined to try and nudge things in the direction towards his goals. It would have moved things along at least.

But Marinette was a planner. And…frustratingly good at it. For all that she was emotional and easy to take by surprise when it came to her friends and her “love”, she was rather skilled in regards to problem solving.

He very well could have started twisting things in her life to push her to the point where she would HAVE to make a wish. There were so many things that could go wrong for her, after all. Bankruptcy. Expulsion. Social exile. Any number of unpleasant little happenings that he could just as easily come in and save her from with a single wish…

But he had the feeling of being challenged. And it seemed beneath him to stack the odds in his own favor in this way (not that they weren’t already, but there was still a difference between a “one in a million chance” and “downright impossible”).

There was the added complication that Marinette was, as previously noted, stubborn. If it came down to it, he wouldn’t put it past her to do something stupid and permanent out of pure spite.

Not to mention that Tikki was there, constantly watching him and just waiting for the chance to smite him.

So he had to plan instead. That was fine. He hadn’t gotten to really apply himself in the past few centuries when it came to his Contracts. Most people tended to make their wishes and leave it at that. Few actually WANTED him to stick around. And even when he did, he was usually stuck playing a role of some sort.

This was quite a unique situation. A contest the likes of which he’d never gotten to experience previously.

Felix found himself looking forward to it. He had never gotten to truly _play_ before…

Well…if his new Contractor wasn’t going to tell him what she wanted from him, he would just have to work it out for himself how best to tempt her.

And if he could mess with certain persons in the meantime, all the better.

Humans were so easy to manipulate, after all…

* * *

Lila was confused.

Confused and increasingly frustrated.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was still here.

Lila had made her third wish, passing off her Contract and all the consequences involved to the unsuspecting target, figuring that would be two problems dealt with.

Killing two birds with one stone, right? Neither an all too observant classmate or a soul-stealing demon to continue hounding her. It was perfect—for her, at any rate. She wasn’t particularly inclined to care what poor Marinette’s fate would be at the hands of that demon. (Well, maybe a little, if only out of a desire to offer some gratitude for escaping that fate herself—read: gloat.)

And yet…

The day after she ended the contract, she had gone to class, fully expecting to hear second-hand of Marinette’s disappearance or some other unfortunate fate. She had been ready to fake tears and spout kind words—and of course to “comfort” her classmates, especially poor Adrien. Hadn’t he just lost his mother recently? It would be such a blow.

Except…

Right when she was about to ask Alya if she had heard anything—to prepare the setup for them to discover Marinette’s fate—

“Sorry I’m late!”

Lila froze.

Sure enough, Marinette had entered the class with all the impact of a whirlwind. She appeared tired and out of breath, red from the exertion of her running.

And…wholly _alive_.

Lila wasn’t sure she could believe her eyes, but the rest of the class greeted her per usual and Lila barely gathered herself enough to give a wave of her own. Marinette just smiled and went for her desk, acting like everything was completely normal.

This…this wasn’t right. Nothing should be normal for her anymore!

She should be dead! Or soulless! Or panicked about her current situation!

Why was she here?!

Lila watched Marinette for the rest of the day with a close eye, just waiting to see what would happen.

But the end of the day came and went, and Marinette returned home perfectly safe.

This didn’t make any sense! The contract was finished, wasn’t it? Marinette should be gone! So why wasn’t she?

Maybe…maybe the demon was biding his time?

Yeah, he was probably just waiting before taking her soul.

But the next day came and Marinette was still there, acting like nothing was any different from usual.

The same occurred the next day.

And the next.

And the next…

Two weeks passed and Lila was growing increasingly paranoid.

What was going on?

The Contract is for three wishes, then the demon takes the Contractor’s soul.

So why was Marinette still here?

What was he waiting for?

Was he not going to accept the sacrifice?

No, he wouldn’t have agreed to it then if that were the case.

Did Marinette know what was going on? She certainly wasn’t acting any different. And if she did know, she would have confronted Lila immediately—that was the type of person she was.

So why?

It was three weeks in when she got her answer.

“We have a new student with us today!”

Said student entered the room with little fanfare. But when she saw him, Lila felt her heart stop. Her pen snapped with the force of her grip. She never noticed the way Marinette stiffened.

“Hello, everyone.”

_No._

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

It couldn’t be…

“My name is Felix Agreste.”

His hair color. His dark green eyes. His complexion and facial features. Everything was disturbingly similar to Adrien.

But she knew…

As the one who summoned him, she of course would recognize him regardless of his appearance.

The demon in question hiding behind such angelic features merely smiled at the class. But somehow, she knew he was focused on her.

“I’m sure we’ll be great friends.”

It took every bit of acting and self restraint to hold back a scream.

* * *

“Okay, how did you do it?”

“Why, whatever do you mean?”

“Cut the act, Felix. I’m pretty sure Adrien doesn’t have a cousin.”

“Yes, you would be the one to know that, wouldn’t you?”

“Felix.”

“Such accusations! And we’ve only just met one another.”

_“Felix.”_

“Honestly, it was simple enough. A bit of manipulation here, some ‘suggestions’ there. I’m sure you should already know that human minds are quite simplistic and malleable—they must be if they haven’t caught on to the fact that you’re the one running around fighting butterflies in the equivalent of a polka-dotted onesie.”

“Hey!”

“You’re the budding designer, surely you could have done better.”

“I panicked, okay?”

“Regardless, I simply went to the Agreste mansion and introduced myself as Emilie’s nephew visiting for the rest of the school year.”

“And they believed you?”

“You’ve seen my power at work with Rossi, so you already know I can be quite convincing.”

“Not with _everything.”_

“Yet.”

“Still, was this really necessary? Setting yourself up as a student here and all?”

“Of course it was. How else can I ensure my ability to stay by your side at all times?”

“Uh-huh. And how is that going to work out if you’re living in the Agreste mansion now?”

“Are you jealous?”

“It’s a logistical question.”

“No worries, my dear. I will of course make you my priority.”

“Right, because I’m totally the sole reason you chose to show yourself at the school.”

“Well, I of course had to see how my former Contractor has been doing.”

“You really shouldn’t be causing trouble like this.”

“You can’t say you didn’t enjoy the results.”

“As funny as it was seeing Lila look constipated all day…”

“Wasn’t it, though?”

She couldn’t help the half smile, but didn’t say anything further.

It was a contest.

The rules were unknown.

The winning conditions a mystery.

But if he was going to be bound here, he was certainly going to enjoy himself in the process.


	14. First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Felix Culpa AU, Felix notes the two major instances of kissing in his life.
> 
> One of those instances was traumatic.
> 
> The other involved an akuma.

* * *

When Felix had his first kiss, it had been an overall unnoteworthy affair. He would be surprised if anyone remembered.

Which was naturally why every detail of it was imprinted in his memory like cheap and ugly-looking stamp haphazardly placed on a child’s hand.

It had been for a photo shoot. He honestly didn’t even remember what specifically it was for. Something promoting a charity? Or a school? He remembered standing rigidly in this horrendous suit that was itchy, ill-fitting, and all too stiff. He remembered it was hot and much too bright—summer maybe? The air was hot and muggy, which only made the suit worse. And there was that girl—that stupid vapid brat of a girl who would insist on holding his hand no matter how little he did to reciprocate or how much he tried to pull away.

He was all of 9 years old, if he remembered correctly. And he hated it. He hated being there.

They were taking pictures and Felix wanted nothing more than to get it over with and go inside where it was cool and he could finally get some water. But the girl he was partnered with kept wasting time with her obnoxious voice and inability to follow simple directions, making the whole thing last longer than it needed to. No one seemed to notice or even really care. He was hot and dizzy, and looking back he was sure he had probably been suffering some manner of dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Then finally it was the last shot and Felix was relieved. Just one more, he had kept telling himself. Just this one last thing and he could go home and sleep in his room.

He remembered the girl’s loud voice all too close to him again calling out his name and out of reflex pulled his hands to himself to protect them from her grasp. He realized too late that it wasn’t his hands she was aiming for as he felt two sweaty palms grabbing his cheeks and a face mashing against his own in what he was afterwards informed was supposed to be some semblance of a kiss. Her lips were dry and while it may have simply been his childish imagination, even to this day he described them as being like plastic.

He heard a shutter go off. Followed by cheers. Like this complete invasion of his person was something to be happy about.

He was left confused. Dazed. Not out of awe or love but out of dizziness and panic because someone just grabbed him and forced her lips on his own and he wasn’t even coherent enough to know if he was okay with that or not. Nobody had mentioned a kiss in the pictures. Nobody had told him this would happen!

Felix was nine years old and had just been kissed. And all he wanted to do was push the little offender away and hide somewhere.

He remembered looking around in confusion, hoping someone could explain to him. But nobody did. They all just smiled at each other with big grins like this was expected or perhaps a nice surprise that none of them saw any problem with.

Everyone was so _proud_. “His first kiss!” One commented, not that the individual should have known or that it was anybody’s business in the first place.

They cooed and oohed and ahhed like it was something adorable and sweet and romantic before promptly forgetting about the whole thing and moving on to whatever else was unfortunate enough to catch their fancy.

But for Felix, the gross feeling remained. It lingered, even. That stale plastic feeling that remained on his lips no matter how many times he wiped and rubbed them. No matter what he did, the feeling never went away.

Even when he went home, it was still there. He washed his face a good three times to no effect. And he didn’t understand it. He was nine. No one had spoken to him about it or asked how he felt. And he could only reason that maybe it was because they weren’t supposed to? Or that it was something he was supposed to know and deal with? Maybe this was normal and that was why nobody talked about it?

So for a time, he was convinced that he had an allergy to kissing and made a note to avoid doing it again in the future.

He’d developed a bad habit of biting his lip after that. No matter how many times his parents or agent or photographers insisted he stop—because heaven forbid Felix _bruise his precious lips_ , or worse, get an _overbite!_ It took a good while to break himself of the habit, and that was only because of the constant interference of the adults he was forced to work with to stop him.

It all only furthered his dislike of people.

* * *

An ornate door slammed open as Felix barged into the beautifully but rather out datedly beautiful room.

“Marinette!”

He might have been relieved when he saw her, if it were not for the way she barely responded to him, instead remaining stationary at the window seat and oblivious to the world.

Felix groaned. Because of course the akuma had gotten to her as well.

Of all the stupid things—!

Why? WHY did Rossi have to go and mess up the theater performance?

It shouldn’t have mattered that Marinette had gotten the role of the Princess for the play, and to be fair, the girl hadn’t even wanted the role. But Adrien had been selected as the Prince—which Felix was inclined to believe might have have more to do with either some sort of behind the scenes bribery or that the Director had just been intelligent enough to figure that he would get more attention and notoriety by having the male model as the star. Either due to her own infatuation with the boy or because she knew full well what would likely happen with just about anyone else in her place, Marinette chose to keep the role. The Director was overall rather pleased, and the two seemed to do well in their practice together.

But Felix knew neither Bourgeois or Rossi were happy with the decision. He also know that at least one of the two was bound to try something to sabotage the play.

Unfortunately, Felix had put his money on Chloe, given her overall history in general and her previous antics during Clara Nightingale’s music video specifically. He hadn’t counted on Rossi pulling a particularly vindictive stunt and damage the set and costumes. Or that she would try to blame Marinette to try to get her in trouble.

They were just lucky the Director hadn’t bought her story, but it did still cause a major setback for the play and the Director WAS still rather upset about the whole thing. And that was all that was needed to create an akuma.

A reality-warping akuma of all things, and one with the power to recreate his “masterpiece” in the real world. So far, he’d managed to change the other students into a legion of knights and summon a dragon—though Felix had been pretty certain there wasn’t supposed to be a dragon in the play. Then of all things, the man had transformed the Bourgeois hotel into a castle.

One with a tower.

And stairs.

WHY did there have to be so many stairs?

How Felix had managed to break into the place was a mystery. WHY he had done so was an even greater one. He was fairly certain he had lost his mind somewhere in the midst of the day’s antics.

And it wasn’t even the stairs—though heaven knew his legs no doubt hated him after trekking up to the top floor. No.

No, he knew the real reason he had forced his way here instead of doing the sensible thing and hiding out until Ladybug and Chat Noir could defeat the akuma and return things to normal.

It was that he was only there trying to rescue her because she had taken a hit trying to distract the akuma from him in the first place.

Stupid guilt.

Stupid akuma.

Stupid Rossi, wherever she was. No doubt hiding somewhere safe and watching the madness unfold.

_“Marinette!”_ He hissed, grabbing her arm. It was cold. Was she supposed to be this cold?

Dull blue eyes stared at him blankly.

“Marinette, we have to go!” Quickly. Before the akuma returned.

But she didn’t respond. If anything, she appeared altogether rather unconcerned with his warnings or even the fact that he was there at all. Which was particularly concerning, given the aforementioned AKUMA on the loose.

“My Prince will be coming soon. I must wait here for him.” Her voice was as empty as her eyes.

_“Snap out of it!”_

But she refused to move. She merely remained sitting in place by the window, either unaware or unconcerned with where she was, the akuma attack, or the current state of things.

That settled it, he realized. She was clearly under the akuma’s control. It made sense. Knowing Marinette, if she had been herself, she no doubt would have found a way out of here on her own by now and he wouldn't needed to have bothered.

For a moment, Felix questioned if he shouldn’t simply try to force her to leave with him, but she was clearly under the Director’s control and fully intent on obeying whatever commands he had given her. He could attempt to carry her out, but even assuming she didn’t fight him, she would be little more than dead weight as she was—and that wasn’t including the extra weight from the dress and accessories she was now adorned with.

He would almost say she looked pretty. Almost. The outfit was clearly based on her design for the original dress, but when the akuma managed to grab her, it had altered the entire thing—making it more extravagant than it needed to be and with extra accessories. The mask seemed to fit her face perfectly, mostly pink but with extensive silver engravings. In turn, the headpiece she now wore was also made of silver and inlaid with pearls. The dress was pink and silver, and also adorned with a multitude of pearls and silver leaf engravings.

It was beautiful. But he couldn’t help but feel it had looked better before when it had been her own.

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for this.

Felix glanced around the room, but there appeared to be nothing of use. Part of him idly noted that this was likely once Chloe’s room. He might have found it humorous if he wasn’t already stressed and focused on greater concerns.

He had to get Marinette out of there.

But how…?

He started running multiple plans through his head. Questioning the logistics and tactics of whether to try to simply pull her or force himself to carry her out anyway when a certain… _other_ thought came to mind.

It was a play, after all. One based on a fairy tale, if he recalled correctly.

Now, Felix was well versed in books and tales enough to know how the fairy tales of old _truly_ tended to end. But most people weren’t generally as aware—usually caught up in the Disney stories and happy endings. The Director, for all that the man took his art quite seriously, certainly appeared to be one of them.

And how did most people think fairy tales ended.

He groaned at the realization.

Why had Adrien had to go and disappear on him?

“Marinette, _please!_ ”

She remained unmoved.

Felix wanted to throw something.

Where was that blasted boy when he was needed? He had _told_ the other blond they needed to get to her together, but the next thing he knew, he was alone and Adrien had just gone and run off somewhere!

At least Chat Noir had arrived to help, for all the good that did. But Ladybug was nowhere to be found. And while Chat could take down the akuma, he could do nothing to purify it or undo the damage caused if Ladybug wasn’t there.

They needed Ladybug. And if she was already taken down, then he needed another way to save Marinette.

_‘True Love’s Kiss breaks any curse!’_ He remembered the way his mother had intoned the words when she used to read to him. The way Rose had so naively insisted the same and how the Director had smiled in agreement. The way any of the more childish and 'happy' versions of those stories tended to go.

It was a reality-altering akuma. And if it can make reality work how it wants…

Felix groaned again in frustration.

_This_ was why he had tried to bring Adrien here! Any fool could have seen _how_ much Marinette adored him. And if this was supposed to follow the story, she needed to be kissed by her true love!

It was Adrien! It had to be!

And the idiot should have KNOWN that!

How could he remain unaware as to how the girl felt? Was he really that oblivious? Or was he simply trying to ignore it out of some perceived politeness?

Felix didn’t know. He really didn’t care. He just…

He just wanted Marinette to wake up.

A kiss to break a spell, right?

He caught himself biting his lip.

“I’m sorry.”

She merely continued to stare at him.

No, not even at him but _through_ him.

And somehow…for all that he hated touch and especially kissing…

He hated that look on her more.

That damn blank look. Like a doll. Expressionless and empty…

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was always vibrant and full of life.

It was…one of the many things he admired about her.

He reached out slowly. Her eyes didn’t even seem to register his movements.

She should never look like this.

He took her face in his hands—her skin cold to the touch.

She should never feel like this.

He lowered his face to hers, eyes closed tightly and apologies screaming in his head.

**Contact.**

Her lips were soft. Smooth.

Warm.

He hadn’t realized how warm she could be before.

He pulled back, barely grazing her lips with his own as he waited.

There was a shuddering breath that he was sure wasn’t his. A gasp. The feeling of air on his skin.

And blue eyes. Shining and lovely.

“Felix?”


	15. What If...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news: Ladybug and Chat Noir have an ally in Miracle Queen.
> 
> Bad news: Felix will never live it down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …I’m sorry to do this to you, Felix.

* * *

The bees came out of nowhere.

It was an akuma attack—he knew that much. Felix had been fortunate enough to be inside at the school at the time of the initial wave of magical insects of a non-benign variety. While not fully protected, it was at least insulated enough that he had time to witness the sudden infestation before being overcome by it himself.

They numbered in the millions, overtaking anyone unfortunate enough to be in their path.

No, not just in their path. The bees intentionally seemed to target anyone present, with swarms of them breaking off to chase after anyone trying to get away.

He didn’t know what the bees did to their victims. He saw that anyone who was stung simply just…stood in place. Unmoving.

They weren’t dead, he could tell that much. But they were lifeless. And it was becoming increasingly disturbing seeing the streets and parks outside filled with people simply standing there.

Almost as if they were…waiting for something.

He didn’t want to find out what that something was.

Nor did he have any desire to stick around long enough to experience the effects of the bees’ influence for himself.

Being inside the school had only bought him some time, and certainly wasn’t going to be enough to hold out the akuma or its effects indefinitely—not that it ever did, given how often the school would be targeted.

These things were bees, Felix reasoned. Much similar to the creations of the previous Queen Wasp akuma. If they were anything like those—or even just real bees, then that meant they had to reach their victim to control them.

But what if they couldn’t reach their victim?

It was a gamble. These things were fashioned after bees, but that wasn’t to say they were exactly the same. However, his mind flashed to images of bee keepers he had seen and the gear they would wear to protect themselves from being stung. And it was a beautiful day outside. Warm and sunny enough that few if anyone would be wearing anything that completely covered their bodies.

Which was particularly unfortunate since that meant he had no way of knowing if his hypothesis was true. And it wasn’t like he had access to any full-body coverings to test that theory.

Unless…

His mind racing a mile a minute, he made a dash for the locker rooms. Other people were panicking around him, but he ignored them and remained focused on his goal.

He didn’t have time to make something. And there was no telling how well any manner of coats, jackets, or scarves he could find would protect him. If he could find any in the first place.

However, the fencing team had practice regularly, and many of the members often kept their gear in their lockers. The uniforms were made to protect the wearer and covered the entire body. Perhaps they would serve his purposes here.

He heard screams in the hallways behind them. Distant, but cutting off quickly. And there was an ominous buzzing growing in volume as it approached ever nearer.

He didn’t have time to look through every locker for a fencing uniform that might fit him. Which is why he immediately sought out Adrien’s locker. The other model was slightly shorter than him and not quite as broad. But his uniform would do in a pinch.

Come on, Adrien! He just needed something to cover him!

He sprinted to the locker in question and tried the handle, thanking everything that the school’s locker policy was so lax that they were easily accessible. Salvation so close, he flung open the locker.

And stared.

“Why would he have…

“Why is there…

_“…just why?”_

  
The distant buzzing sound was getting closer. If he kept waiting around, he would be caught, and it wouldn’t matter anyway. He really didn’t have the time to question it.

He _really_ wanted to, though.

Part of him debated simply hiding in the locker and hoping the insects don’t notice him. But that was foolish. They were small and could easily get inside and find him, and then he’d be stung while inside the locker and even more trapped.

Running would only get him caught.

Was it too late to jump out a window?

Or…he could bite the bullet and accept the mediocre offer presented to him.

He sighed.

“Dammit, Adrien.”

Desperate times means desperate measures.

“It’s for a good cause.” He muttered to himself through gritted teeth as he reached into the locker.

He would be having **_words_** with Adrien about this when he saw him next.

_“It’s for a good cause.”_

**_WORDS_ ** _._

* * *

Ladybug was panicking.

They had just managed to defeat the controlled heroes, take down Miracle Queen, and prevent Chloe from grabbing another akuma. But Hawk Moth and Mayura were both still standing strong, and Master Fu was under attack. His barrier wasn’t going to last much longer. Chat was looking to her for direction, but Ladybug didn’t know what to do!

“Lucky Charm!”

Into her hands fell a polka-dotted butterfly net.

“What am I supposed to do with this?!”

Hawk Moth laughed.

“It looks like you’re out of ideas.” He jeered before turning on his captive. “And your precious Guardian is out of time.”

The sentimonster made another attack on the barrier, causing it to crack.

Ladybug looked around in desperation, but couldn’t see anything in reach. She looked back up to Master Fu to no effect. Then she looked at the two villains—Hawk Moth and Mayura. While the supervillain was focused on the Guardian, his assistant was keeping her gaze on the heroes. If she and Chat tried to jump up there themselves…

But…a butterfly net…

There had to be a reason, wasn’t there?

She growled and threw the Lucky Charm at Mayura.

The woman saw this and smoothly shifted just out of the way, allowing the Charm to sail uselessly by her head. She smirked down at the unfortunate heroes.

“Pathetic.”

It certainly was. Especially when the very butterfly net she had just avoided was suddenly brought down over her head.

She let out a cry of surprise before a twist of the net and sudden weight dragged her to the ground and sent her falling to the concrete of the roof, dazed and gasping.

At this, Hawk Moth spun in surprise to see his ally’s fall. And the one who accosted her.

“What?” He gaped in sheer befuddlement at the sight of the intruder. “What are you?!”

Like the terror that crepes in the night.

The one who stood the line between ripe and wrong.

The split between victory and defeat.

Hawk Moth had seen this figure before…but it couldn’t be the same person beneath that mask.

The new hero stood before him in all his apeeling yellow glory.

And gave a rather…lackluster sigh.

“Let’s just get this over with.” He said, twirling the net in his hand before pointing it at the butterfly it was truly meant to capture.

It would certainly be cool.

But…well…it was being done by a guy in a banana suit.

“How can you even move in that thing?!” Hawk Moth demanded.

Felix grinned from within the suit.

“Experience.”

He was a model, after all. He’s had to wear and perform in all sorts of get-ups. He could honestly say he’s been caught wearing worse in the name of “fashion”. It was humiliating, but hardly the most degrading thing he’s done.

After all, if he was going to have to wear a stupid banana costume…

_It was sure as hell going to be the costume he was going to beat Hawk Moth in._


	16. Bad Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix was used to bad luck. But some things can become too much

* * *

  
Seven is supposed to be a lucky number.

But it was the seventh time he’d been able to meet his friends for a group outing and yet again, Marinette wasn’t there.

He’d been getting worried, since she had seemed more distant lately. When he talked to the others about it, their responses varied. Some of them waved it off as just “Marinette being Marinette”. Others seemed a bit worried as well. Alya in particular had been grumbling about her best friend bailing on yet another hang out. And even Nino commented on how much less they’d been seeing her lately.

It hurt.

He knew she was having difficulties lately. Marinette always seemed so busy and overworked. He half wondered if he couldn’t lend her aid somehow. Like help her with time management. Or maybe ask Nathalie to make a schedule for her!

Not that she would likely take that well, now that he thought about it. But still…

Marinette was clearly overwhelmed with all the projects she’s taken on. Especially if they were keeping her from being able to spend time with her friends or just relax. Honestly, he was getting worried about her.

So were the others. He’d spoken with Alya and Nino. And even the members of Kitty Section. They all had mentioned not seeing Marinette much lately. And particularly worrisome was this continuing trend where she would agree to meet up with them somewhere to hang out only to never make it. It was disheartening, and some of the others had given up on inviting her out because of it.

But not Adrien. He cared about all of his friends and Marinette in particular was very dear to him.

It was this latest time when he tried talking to his friends about Marinette’s whereabouts when Lila happened to overhear their conversation and chose to interject.

“Well, she probably ran off with Felix again.”

Adrien froze. “What?”

Lila gasped and covered her mouth, as if she hadn’t intended to reveal that.

~~She totally did.~~

“I’m so sorry!” She ~~falsely~~ apologized. “I didn’t mean to suggest anything untoward between them!”

She smiled sweetly and started to speak lowly, as if sharing a secret. “It’s just that I’ve been seeing her hanging around a lot with Felix nowadays. Given everything, it’s almost as if she prefers his company.” She looked away, giving the appearance of looking concerned. “They seem to be awfully close lately, don’t they? It just seems like Marinette has been looking for any reason to be around him.”

Adrien’s smile became more strained. “I’m sure that’s not the case.”

It couldn’t be the case. Because Marinette like making friends, but she certainly wouldn’t just up and abandon them all like that.

Lila frowned, appearing put off at his reaction. He wasn’t sure why, but it did make him question what her intention was.

“Well, if you want to find one, you only need to find the other.” She told him, almost teasingly. As if she knew exactly what she was saying and the implications.

Adrien…was trying very hard not to think about it.

It was no secret that Felix had little love for his classmates, or anyone for that matter. He preferred to spend his free time by himself, often reading or studying. Aside from Marinette, he didn’t go out of his way to interact with them. And while he had started to take part in certain events and projects, he was still difficult to approach. His demeanor did not endear him to his classmates and they in turn did little to make him feel welcome. There was a wall there...a barrier that separated Felix from everyone else.

If Marinette was distancing herself from them for Felix…

He felt a pang in his heart at that.

But…Lila lied.

Maybe she was lying about this, too? Or maybe she simply misunderstood. It wasn’t like Marinette would be the type to abandon her friends just to spend time with Felix.

That’s what he kept trying to tell himself. After he left the group. When he entered the school. As he made his way through the courtyard. Until he heard a familiar voice and couldn’t stop himself from turning to look, and in doing so, he felt his stomach sink.

Because there she was.

With Felix.

Always with Felix now.

Just as Lila had said. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, it was…seeming only more truth. It was like she didn’t have time for the rest of them anymore. She was regularly missing get-togethers and didn’t seem to want to be around them as much. But somehow, someway, she always found time for him.

Didn’t she like them?

Didn’t she trust them?

A lot had been happening lately, he knew. But for all that Adrien tried to support her and keep the peace, it felt as though Marinette was slipping away. And to his consternation, nothing he tried seemed to help.

She only ever seemed to want to be around Felix.

…

In fact, a lot of the changes and troubling signs Adrien had been noticing these days seemed to be directly tied to the other boy. Before, everything seemed fine. But since he showed up…

It was like Marinette wanted nothing to do with her friends. Or with him.

Adrien rubbed his chest where he felt a twinge of heartache as he watched the way she smiled at the other boy.

Was this what it was like to be losing a friend?

What would happen? What would it be like without Marinette around? Not seeing her. Not getting to talk to her. No more video games. No croissants or random pastry days. No movies or hangouts.

An image came to mind, one that was all too familiar. Of him. Alone. Missing someone who left without a trace before he could even get a chance to say goodbye. With no idea where she was or what happened to her. And this time with only only a lucky charm to remember her by.

He winced.

No.

He couldn’t lose her.

He needed to talk to her.

Adrien wouldn’t just give up on a friend.

* * *

When Felix returned to the classroom, it was to find it empty of anyone else and all belongings still in pace.

“Thank goodness.” He muttered to himself as he went up the steps to his shared desk with Marinette to retrieve the sketchbook she had asked him for. He gave a quick glance through and was pleased to find it was the correct one, filled to the brim with costume designs of older period clothing, armored knights, and a princess gown. All thankfully unmarred during their absence. With the way things had been going lately, he had half expected to find it torn or damaged.

At least SOMETHING was going right for once. Felix wasn’t one to believe in luck, but he might have considered this to be a sign of of his fortune changing. Of course, he wasn’t that lucky.

It had…not been the easiest of days. Or weeks for that matter.

The play was more stress than he realized. Taking on an assistant managerial position had probably not been one of his better moves, but…no, there was no “but”. It was a lapse in judgement on his part and he was still kicking himself for accepting the role.

The script was, to be honest, a mess. He’d had to edit and rewrite a few of the scenes just to deal with some of the errors or glaring issues. The set designs were horrendous to look at—and whose bright idea had it been to let Raincomprix get the paint supplies? Anyone should have been able to tell that was a mistake when she was always at Bourgeois’s beck and call, especially when Bourgeois was still upset about not getting the part she wanted. At least the members of the art club were involved. Marc was willing to look at the script and iron out the writing while Alix and Nathaniel both stepped up with extra supplies to make a set that was at least satisfactory for the production. So a couple of crises were averted, even if there were still other fires he was constantly putting out.

There was a lingering feeling of paranoia, however, which wasn’t helped by the way Rossi was hanging out the set up areas more than she had any reason to be. Clearly she was up to something, though he had no proof yet. He tried to keep an eye on her as much as possible, but there was only so much attention he could afford to waste on her when he had so much else to do.

Marinette had been a great help throughout it all. She had been working on the costumes, so at least he could rest easy that this was one thing that was actually going well. But while her designing and crafting was unparalleled, her acting needed work. She was a mess around Agreste even under normal circumstances and Felix had doubts about her ability to perform once with him on stage. When he was practicing with her alone, she seemed fine, but knowing her previous antics with the other boy, he was still worried.

Then there were…other issues of concern. She had been pouring her all into the performance—more than she should, if he was being honest. She’d been spending more time alone lately. And though he didn’t pry, he still expressed concern. The things she’d told him…were infuriating, to say the least. Her “friends” cancelling on her last minute or giving her the wrong times or locations for meet-ups, only to come in talking about it the next day like they hadn’t intentionally left her out.

He couldn’t fix that. She didn’t want him to, for all that she cried her tears over the matter. It seemed having something to focus on and at least one person willing to stay by her helped. If it was all she needed, Felix found little trouble allowing himself to be available, even if it was nothing more than someone to share a desk with while she worked. It allowed him to give more input on some of her designs and for the two of them to coordinate on the play and the stress of their roles, at any rate.

Having someone to talk to and vent with was…nice.

The time they spent together was…pleasant.

And despite himself, Felix found himself enjoying her company.

Whether happy or sad, whether talking or in silence, he didn’t mind her presence. And she in turn seemed to appreciate his. They had been spending their free time together, discussing the play, schoolwork, home obligations, or just anything that comes to mind. Alternatively, there were the times they sat together in silence, each working on their own projects, only making comments when necessary.

It was a nice way to get his mind off things. A distraction from the daily doldrum. He had a lot on his plate as it was even under normal circumstances. But with the play and the situation with Marinette and their classmates, he had been feeling more stressed.

…

Then there was also the matter of Rossi in particular. And that was one headache he wanted to not bother with right now (or ever), for all that he knew he couldn’t afford to ignore it.

The Italian girl had been a consistent thorn in his side since that first disastrous day he was forced to make her acquaintance. His hopes that she would decide to ignore him have yet to come to fruition as she continued her attempts to worm her way into more of Felix’s life. Not that he understood why since he had made it clear he would not encourage her delusions and he was certain that she was more interested in attempting to pursue Agreste anyway. He had thought that the other model would be enough to keep her attention since she was aware he knew her lies for what they were and yet saw fit to enable her regardless. But to his annoyance, it seemed the liar could multitask and was intent on covering her bases. The fact that he didn’t want to be one of said bases seemed entirely lost on her.

It seemed she saw fit to try to infringe on his life outside of school as well as in it. He was getting notice from acquaintances and staff he worked with about the girl trying to make appearances in places where he knew she should not be. Modeling jobs, meetings, outside activities. Things he wished he could attribute to Agreste but knew with unsettling certainty that there was more to it. He was only fortunate that he had managed to prevent her from making contact with his parents. _That_ was a disaster waiting to happen.

Felix half wondered if the girl wasn’t trying to build herself a harem. Or just liked having the idea of a backup in case Agreste ended up with someone else…or if she got bored with him.

It was fully possible. Likely, even. Felix had concerns about the way Rossi almost seemed more…lively when faced with someone who didn’t believe her. Either she enjoyed the challenge or she had a compulsive need to break anything she didn’t have, either of which was worrisome.

He had hoped his general personality would be off-putting enough to dissuade her interest. But looking into things, it seemed that Rossi has something of a ‘history’. One that left a trail of tears, broken promises, shattered dreams, and decimated relationships in her wake. She had all the makings of a serial killer, only she didn’t like to get her hands dirty and tended to target people on a much more personal level to cause them to destroy themselves. Ruined lives, discredited schools, and entire communities torn apart wherever she goes only to conveniently have to move just in time to avoid any fallout herself. Then rinse and repeat. His research into her past was…very informative. He had an entire file about it by this point.

Part of him was tempted to pass this file off to Cesaire just to see her reaction—or rather he would be if he wasn’t already certain she would only dismiss it out of hand simply out of her perceived “rivalry” with him.

A pity.

But it only furthered his paranoia about the matter. Especially concerning her targeting of Marinette, who had only made herself an enemy by directly challenging her. Not that it would have made a difference if she hadn’t from what Felix observed. Rossi had an MO, and was prone to targeting people who were competition, regardless of whether the target even knew or cared.

And Marinette, whether she knew it or not, was competition. Popular, kind, accomplished. If anyone could have outshone Rossi, it would be her. He had little doubt that if Marinette hadn’t known and refuse to go along with her plans, Rossi would have tried to ride off her coattails while also slowly sabotaging her until there was nothing left.

She had done it before.

Marinette may not been fooled, but Rossi has been given just enough time to build her influence enough over others in her general area. She wasn’t content with just that, of course. And for all that Felix tried, it was taking too much of his time as it was just to try to block her from spreading her influence to anyone truly dangerous. And that was only as far as he knew and could redirect. He was still new to the area and his demeanor did not easily endear him to people. What resources he had were limited compared to Agreste or his father, the latter of whom seemed to have taken an unusual interest in Rossi and keeping her around for reasons Felix didn’t know.

Which was certainly not helping his paranoia. Or his stress.

So it was understandable that he really REALLY didn’t have the patience to deal with a sudden confrontation with the younger Agreste.

“Oh, hello Felix!”

“Agreste.” He answered back, distractedly as he picked up the sketchbook. He needed to get back to the theater so Marinette could start prepping.

But the model seemed unusually intrusive, going so far as to look at the book in Felix’s hands with suspicion. “What are you doing with Marinette’s design book?”

“She left it behind when we went to the theater area and she asked me to come and grab it for her.”

Agreste brightened at that as if struck with a brilliant idea. “How about I take it to her then?”

“Hmm?” Felix asked, barely paying attention.

“I mean, you’re so busy. I can save you the trip. I need to talk to Marinette anyway, so this works out for both of us!”

Leave Marinette’s creations with Agreste? Not likely.

“I have already told her I would.”

“I’m sure you have other things to do.” Adrien replied with an all-too-bright smile as he attempted to pull the book out of his hand.

Felix’s eyes narrowed as his grip on the sketchbook tightened.

As if he was going to trust Adrien Agreste with something like this. Knowing him, the fool would probably show it off to others who don’t need to see it—Bourgeois, Rossi, or some other designer who could either destroy the book or claim ‘inspiration’ from the designs.

“I can handle it, thank you.” Felix replied, trying to pull the book back.

But Agreste’s hand remained firm, and surprisingly stable for a teen of his frame. Felix looked up in confusion only to be met with a hard and very determined stare.

“I insist.”

Felix raised an eyebrow.

This was new.

Normally, Felix would be content to ignore him and go about his business, but Agreste was being particularly stubborn today.

Unfortunately, as his bad luck would have it, this was the day Agreste finally decided to stand up for himself. Also unfortunately, the one he was choosing to get out of his comfort zone to stand up to was Felix.

Any other time, he might have been impressed. Any other time. But Felix had not been having a good week to begin with, was not in the best of moods, and for all that he normally tried to stay out of personal conflicts with his peers, he had been repeatedly dragged into some sort of drama he honestly knew nothing about. The classmates had been giving him darker looks lately, and while he was content to ignore them, there was an increasing tension in the class that was starting to wear on him. He wasn’t sure what it was, though given how they had been treating Marinette lately, he had a good guess.

Rossi’s manipulations at work, no doubt.

And this may very well be part of it, as well.

Felix frowned. “If you need to talk to her, surely you can do so at any time.”

Agreste only frowned back in response. “That’s a little hard if you’re always there.”

He blinked at that. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t you think you’ve been taking up a lot of Marinette’s time lately?”

That made him freeze.

“What?”

Agreste almost looked guilty though he remained firm. “It’s just…Marinette hasn’t been spending as much time with her friends lately, and we’re all a bit concerned.”

…What?

“She’s been getting rather distant and we just want to look out for her. I’m sure whatever’s been pulling her away can be fixed if we can talk this out.”

He wasn’t actually…

Agreste smiled brightly. “So if it’s all right, I’d like to take this to her and have the chance to talk to her a little.”

That made logical functioning return with one resounding thought:

_Hell no._

Within a second, he glanced over Agreste’s form and already knew everything he needed to know. The boy was smiling, but he wasn’t happy. He was tense and defensive. He seemed to be leaning forward in a way akin to trying to cover the sketchbook, almost as if he was trying to defend it—and by extension, Marinette. The problem was that his gaze, his posture, his position…it was clear the only one he was trying to defend anything from was Felix.

And that brought back his irritation tenfold.

Felix had never trusted Agreste in the first place. And everything he had seen since their initial meeting only helped to further cement that stance.

Agreste was almost like a puppy. Innocent, unassuming, and completely oblivious to any damage he caused around him. His idealistic view of the world would be endearing if it wasn’t so harmful to everyone around him. As it stood, Adrien’s naivety and expectations were downright infuriating.

And he wanted to protect Marinette from _him_? Like _Felix_ was the one of the two of them who was the actual threat to her? When Agreste could break her heart with a word and not even notice? When he had already been the one causing her turmoil all this time?

Felix only found his ire growing.

“It’s no wonder that your career is a model because standing by and doing nothing is practically all you’re good at.”

Agreste balked.

“Excuse me?”

“You are excused.”

That only seemed to upset Agreste more as he bristled and increased his grip on the sketchbook. “No, you need to back off. You’re the one who’s been alienating her from her friends and keeping her to yourself.”

Felix almost growled. “I’ve only been keeping her company while her so-called ‘friends’ ditch her.”

He could see the rage in the other boy’s expression. Interesting, as he had never seen Agreste look so angry before.

“Is that what you’ve been telling her?” He demanded. “That we don’t want her around?”

Felix’s eyes flashed at that. “I haven’t had to say anything. You’re the ones who have been jerking her around.”

“Jerking her around?!”

“Well, what would you call it then?” He demanded, indignant on the girl’s behalf. “When your group invites her places only to cancel and then come in the next day raving about how ‘awesome’ the event they kept her out of was? Or when she’s given the wrong information so she constantly misses out? Is it any wonder she’d give up?”

Agreste shook his head, furious. “We’ve never done that! That sounds like the sort of thing you’d make up just to have an excuse!”

  
Of all the stupid…really? Was that the best he could come up with?

Felix was honestly beyond caring by this point. He had a schedule to keep and a friend in need of her designs.

“I don’t have time for this.”

Agreste glared. “Funny, you seem to have all the time in the world when it comes to stealing our friend.”

Stealing? STEALING? He was speaking as though Marinette were something to take! Like her time wasn’t something she happily shared as long as those involved actually wanted her to.

And that was just it, wasn’t it? They didn’t want her. He’d seen the texts. He’d seen the look of disappointment on her face each time she learned they had left her out again. He’d listened to her frustrations of being misled and lied to by her own friends.

All while Agreste—perfect little can do no wrong Adrien Agreste did nothing. And yet here he was, trying to play the hero? Like he hadn’t let this happen? Whether it was by allowing Rossi to lie or by doing nothing to include Marinette himself, Agreste LET this happen.

And most of all, it _infuriated_ him that Agreste was blaming him for issues in a friendship he hadn’t yet lost and wasn’t doing anything to try to keep.

If Agreste cared—if he really cared _so damn much_ , why hadn’t he done more? Why hadn’t he reached out to Marinette on his own? Why hadn’t he stood up for her any of the times she needed him? Why had he done nothing before now? When Marinette was finally starting to move forward and gain at least some peace of mind?

“I can’t steal something you’ve thrown away.”

“I haven’t!” Agreste hissed out. “I’m just trying to look out for my friends! She doesn’t need someone like you corrupting her!”

Was he serious?

Felix already knew. He’d known since that first day. Agreste was weak. No, even more than that! He was an ignorant—

_—close minded—_

—pretentious—

_—stuck up—_

—self-righteous—

_—arrogant—_

—petulant—

_—jerk who only upset everyone around him—_

—fool who was only a hindrance to anyone unfortunate enough to call him a friend—

_—he shouldn’t even be here if he hates it so much—_

—no business being anywhere near Marinette after the stunts he’s pulled—

_—trying to hoard Marinette to himself—_

—only exposing her to more harm—

_—making Marinette distant—_

—making Marinette sad—

_—keeping everyone else away from her—_

—putting all of the burden on her—

_—I wish he would just—_

—if only he would—

##  _**—disappear!** _

He was drowning too much in his anger to notice the flapping of wings or the feeling of a weight that settled in the book he held. By the time the light flickered over his eyes and he felt the intrusion into his head, he was hardly in a state of mind to be concerned.

_“Battle Royal, I am Hawk Moth.”_ A voice—a point of calm in the storm of his mind echoed his thoughts. _“You wish to protect the one dear to you from those who would cause her harm. I can grant you that power. All I ask for in exchange are the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir.”_

Felix hesitated.

He should say no.

There was…a reason he was supposed to say no…wasn’t there?

But in that moment, he was stressed, distressed, and couldn’t focus past his anger. There were too many threats. Too many people seeking to harm himself and Marinette. And it was just getting too much to watch out for them all.

This…sounded like a perfect deal. Why refuse it?

**_“I accept.”_ **

It was only after he said it that Felix realized he hadn’t been the only one to speak. His gaze snapped over to an enraged Agreste bearing a butterfly insignia all too similar to himself just as his eyes widened in shock as well. The boys had only just realized the implications when the wave of black overtook them both.


	17. Amnesia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clash of Noir Felix is there for Oblivio.
> 
> Memory-less Adrien tries to get answers and ends up with more than he bargained for.
> 
> Gets a bit dark and existential crisis.

* * *

_“Hey, um, Felix. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot.”  
_

_…_

_“I mean, I know that I’m missing my memories, so I don’t know which foot we got off on to start with…”_

_…_

_“I just…I don’t know what other me did to make you hate me. And I don’t know if he ever apologized, so I…if I did something to hurt you, I at least want to try to make it right.”_

_…_

_“Could you just…tell me what I did? I mean, I had to have done something or you wouldn’t be so angry with me…I don’t think?”_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_“Okay then. I’m sorry to have bothered yo—”_

_“You exist.”_

_“What?”_

_“You exist. That is my problem with you.”_

_…_

_“I…I’m sorry, but I’m…uh…not sure that’s something I can help.”_

_A sigh._

_“I made a wish on the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous to prevent something horrible from happening. But nothing is free.”_

_“You…have to pay something, right?”_

_“Exactly. When I made my wish, I did so with the expectation to die. I knew a sacrifice would be needed and I fully believed it would be myself—my life for hers. An equal exchange.”_

_“Wait—an equal exchange of lives? Who?”_

_“She died. That girl—Ladybug—Marinette died and it was my fault. I had been selfish. I abandoned her and she paid the price for it. So it only seemed fair that I take her place in death. It was the least I could do for her after everything.”_

_…_

_“But then I woke up here. I expected to die and have her be revived with my death. Instead, I found myself in the past, back before it all started. No Miraculous. No Hawk Moth. None of it yet. There was only one difference.”_

_“What was it?”_

_…_

_“I didn’t exist.”_

_A hitched breath._

_“There was no record of me. No memory of me. Not from my family. Not from anyone I had ever met. None of them knew me. I had no home to go to. My life…no, my existence was erased.”_

_“I…I’m sorry.”_

_“Don’t be. I would have accepted my fate and let my life end already. Except for one thing.”_

_A dark chuckle._

_“Equivalent exchange doesn’t work as one thinks. Because of my wish, I was never born. But without me, there was a hole in the universe that had to be filled.”_

_“A hole?”_

_“I had…a replacement. I soon discovered that my family had another son—a boy who hadn’t existed before. A blond-haired green-eyed child full of such innocence and naivety whom the universe chose to take my place.”_

_…_

_**“You.”** _

_“I…I don’t…”_

_“You asked me once what my real name was.”_

_“I…”_

_“It’s Felix Agreste.”_

_A gasp._

_“I was the Chat Noir before you. I was the son of Gabriel Agreste before you ever came to be. Everything you are, I once was. Your life. Your progress. I’ve lived it all before.”_

_…_

_“To think that this world would replace me with you. How pathetic.”_

_…_

_“You exist to fill the place I left behind. With everything else exactly the same, I realized rather quickly what that meant. The son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. An isolated child. A member of high social standing. And of course, the future Black Cat wielder.”_

_“You knew I would be…?”_

_“I knew you would become Chat Noir, yes. Though I can’t say I was happy about it. I had already failed once before. Why would I want to have another version of me try again?”_

_…_

_“I was given a second chance I didn’t deserve. If nothing else, I would use it to make sure that what happened with me would not occur again.”_

_“But I won’t…”_

_“You don’t even know what happened. How she died. How I betrayed her.”_

_A broken whisper._

_~~“That kiss was both the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.”~~ _

_  
“Felix?”_

_A sigh._

_“My goal is to find someone else to wield the Ring. A different Chat Noir. One who won’t repeat my mistakes.”_

_“But…I’m not you…”_

_“Don’t fool yourself. You are my exact copy in all the worst ways.”_

_“How?!”_

_“Because you will leave her.”_

_“No, I wouldn’t—!”_

_“You will. Because someday, you will be presented with the thing you want most—more than anything in the world.”_

_…_

_“Do you really want to try telling me that when given that opportunity, you wouldn’t act on it?”_

_…_

_“The only reason I even tell you any of this is because I know you won’t remember. Any effect of the akuma will be erased once Ladybug casts her Miraculous Cure. That means everything you experience like this will disappear once your true memories are returned.”_

_“What will happen?”_

_“You’ll live as usual. Innocent and ignorant as you always are. Eventually, the Clash will happen and we will have to fight for true ownership of the Black Cat Ring.”_

_“Then…then tell me something. If you don’t exist and I’m supposed to be you…then how are you still here in this world? How are we even able to do this…’Clash’ at all?”_

_“I imagine it is this vestige of Plagg’s power that allows me to continue despite everything. Once we Clash, his power will be restored and that bit still left within me will fade, allowing me to disappear as well.”_

_“Wait—what?!”_

_“The Clash will determine which of us will be the true wielder of the Black Cat Miraculous. If you win, you’ll not only get to continue being Chat Noir, you’ll also get a boost to your strength and a wider range of powers. I imagine you’ll be thrilled.”_

_“But…"_

_“And if I should win the Clash, the power of the Ring will be made whole. I will take the Ring from you and bequeath it to a new wielder, then fade away in satisfaction that she will be in safe hands.”_

_“That’s horrible!”_

_“Then you should hope you win.”_

_“ **No! That’s horrible!** I may not have all my memories, but I don’t want you to **DIE!** ”_

_…_

_“And…if Adrien is anything like I am now, he wouldn’t want you to die either!”_

_…_

_“Dammit, Felix! Did you ever think that maybe this was a second chance for you just as much as it was for everyone else?”_

_…_

_…_

_“You don’t even know me. What makes you think I deserve to be saved?”_

_No answer._

_A scoff._

_“…Memories or not, you are still such a child.”_

_The sound of footsteps walking away and fading._

_A breath from the one remaining._

_“Okay.”_

_Another shaky breath._

_“O-okay, future Adrien. I uh…I don’t know what good this will do. Or if um…if you already knew all this, but…_

_“Please. Please, help him.”_

***Click***

Adrien took a deep breath and turned to his pale kwami.

“…Plagg, we need to talk about this ‘Clash’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix has problems. Adrien is no Ladybug, but he will make solutions.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr at https://nobodyfamousposts.tumblr.com
> 
> Felix Culpa starts at https://archiveofourown.org/works/17689955
> 
> Clash of Noir is explained at https://nobodyfamousposts.tumblr.com/post/180575926250/clash-of-noir


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